Backwater Girls from Backwater Worlds
by Sophia Dreith
Summary: Rey was having a good day. Well–not good–there were people in her loft partying it up and doing God knows what to the furniture. It wasn't perfect but it was her life and she'd earned it. Which is, of course, when the psycho in the mask descended from the sky and demanded that the people of Earth hand over a girl. A girl who shared the same face as Rey. SLOW BURN.
1. Chapter 1

Reyna Gillespie was having one of those days. The kind where she was well aware that it was all very #FirstWorldProblems but she could not help the grimace that passed over her features as a particularly drunk person knocked into her from behind. There was the tell-tale dampness of a spilled drink and the guy mumbled out an apology before moving on without a backwards glance. She shifted slightly and debated on using it as an excuse to head back to her bedroom and change her top, but she wasn't interested in listening to her friend bitch at her. The top was black so she was confident that nothing showed anyway. She would just smell like a bar.

Rey shook her head in irritation and turned back to the window. It was by far her favorite thing about her new home. New York gleamed in the night sky and it was a far better view than the slightly obnoxious mingling going on in her condo. There aren't enough booze in this city to have made any of this a good idea, she thought. But James had assured her that having a party in her brand new loft was the thing to do. Even if she didn't recognize half the people currently gabbing at one another on her seven thousand dollar leather sofa.

I thought you were supposed to get gifts for your home, not have to pay a fortune repairing damage, she thought with a twist of her lips. Rey had already spotted signs of red wine stains on her polished concrete floors and she resisted the urge to sigh. Her glass was still too full and she needed to remedy that.

She gulped down another large swallow as James came up behind her. "Girl, this party is swank." James was her best friend for the last five years, ever since her brother Poe beat it off to the Navy to be a pilot. Rey had no idea what the swank meant but it sounded positive so she smiled.

"How long before I have my house back?" she asked through pleasantly gritted teeth.

James, as usual, was unimpressed. "It's like midnight, babydoll. It's gonna be hours."

That's what she was afraid of. She hated crowds of people, but she'd just been promoted at her job and her condo was finally finished with her renovations to make it her own personal modern oasis in the city. That being said, she spent much of her time on her terrace with its lush plants and beautiful view. She'd be out there tomorrow planting flowers if she wasn't too hungover after this shindig. While the party hadn't been her idea, people in her line of work needed to make social and business connections. Connecting with other people had never been one of Rey's stronger suits so she'd agreed to host a little soiree, and James had handled the invites. She didn't know half these people but then that was the point. Most of the people she did know had already said their hellos and hung around for a few minutes before they went off to take advantage of the new faces and potential connections.

She took another drink of her sangria and was about to get up, perhaps try to converse with one of her guests, when she felt her phone start buzzing in her pocket. Rey ignored it at first, but it just kept buzzing with updates from her twitter feed. She set her glass down on the sill and pulled her smartphone out. Rey blinked as mass texts and social media notifications started cascading down the screen, but she couldn't read them fast enough before another notification buried the one she was trying to read. Rey looked up and saw that most of her guests were having a similar experience. She quickly unlocked the little machine and pulled up her twitter app.

Her feed was blowing up in front of her and she clicked on a link to a news site. First Contact, it read and she blinked several time. Must be some kind of hoax, she thought. Rey was about to play the accompanying live video stream when the people around her began talking even more loudly. There was a note of panic as the volume in the room began to increase.

"Holy shit you guys! Turn on the fucking television!"

Rey looked over to see her seventy inch flat screen light up and whoever had the remote was flipping through the channels rapidly. Whatever it was, it had gotten the attention of this crowd . . . it had to be big.

"—You're just tuning in, contact with extraterrestrial life has been made."

Rey nearly dropped her phone as her fingers slackened in the face of the news anchor almost frantically reporting on the video of giant goddamn space ships circling the planet. The image was grainy but it was very clear that there were several grey triangular ships moving over the atmosphere of the planet. Images began to appear on the screen showing not only the lighter grey ships but a larger darker ship that reminded Rey of an arrow head

The blonde news anchor seemed a bit flustered but she kept her tone even. "Reports from NASA say there are seven smaller ships that are approximately sixteen hundred meters in length and our defense specialist says a single ship could carry as many as four hundred individual air ships inside. The larger ship is nineteen hundred kilometers in length and can carry . . . thousands." Rey and everyone else in the room heard the gulp in the woman's voice.

Nineteen kilometers, she thought, what the hell is that in American?

A map of the planet appeared showing little red triangles moving over the planet along with their trajectories. The large one seemed to have settled over Paris, France. Grainy cellphone video of the mass hysteria in Paris was being played as the news anchor continued speaking. This was played in conjunction with large crowds of people gathered at cathedrals in Europe. They held candles and prayed and Rey felt her breath coming out in uneven pants.

She heard someone cry out in a panic, "Oh my God, one is heading here. I need to go home. Holy shit, I gotta go home!"

More than half of the party spilled out into the hallway as many of her guests hurried to make it to their homes, probably to be with family since it seemed very possible that E.T. wasn't just there to phone home. Rey blinked several times and her fingers tightened once more around her phone. Her hand trembled as she hastily swiped through her apps and selected her brother's name from her call list. She held the phone up to her ear but it went straight to voicemail. She would need to call the navy operator, but she knew she had no chance of getting through to Poe. He was a pilot—he would be on stand-by.

"Fuck," she murmured but still sent him a text anyway asking that he call her when he could. I love you, she typed out.

Rey moved closer to the television as new images flashed across the screen, and she bit her lip as the 'experts' pointed out the areas that were clearly some kind of offensive weapons. The term 'rail gun' was being thrown around along with 'massive cannons' and 'immense firepower'. The ship had many openings along the side—docking bays, her mind whispered—where smaller ships could emerge and rain down untold destruction.

She looked out of the window towards the night sky. The ship wasn't there yet, of course but it was coming. And Poe . . . where was he? She wracked her brain trying to remember where his carrier was. Poe was usually pretty vague about where his ship was going and never gave her anything concrete. She could only hope he was nowhere near the line of fire.

She could see the beginnings of a riot in the streets below her condo and she wondered how bad it would get but the sudden silence of the news program drew her attention back and the screen flickered. Her jaw dropped along with everyone else's as a creature materialized on the screen. He . . . it . . . whatever it was wore all black with a hood draped over a mask. The silver inlays that swirled around the facade shone dully in the low red light of wherever he was broadcasting from. If he was looking to intimidate the population, he had that 'stuff of nightmares' thing down to an art.

"Greetings." The voice was male, she was sure, and distinctly unnatural as if he were speaking over a phone. It was deep and almost guttural but there was no trace of a foreign accent which caused her to narrow her eyes.

"I have traveled quite a distance to this find this little planet. I am looking for something—Someone." A face flashed up onto the screen. It was clearly a sketch and not a photo. Rey blinked in confusion.

James stood beside her and he looked from her to the screen several time before asking in a quiet voice, "Babydoll, is that you?" She was shaking her head in denial even as he asked. It wasn't possible.

The man in the black mask continued speaking in a voice-over. "I seek this girl. She is human and born of this world, but she belongs to me."

The image switched back to the creature. "You have twenty four hours to deliver her to these coordinates. If not, I will raze this planet until I find her."

The screen flickered and the dumbstruck news anchor sat there for several seconds before realizing she was live again and began talking. By then, everyone in the room was looking back at Rey in varying degrees of pity and horror. There had to be some kind of mistake or maybe it really was a hoax because there was just no way . . .

She met their eyes. "It's not me!" she snapped at them.

James looked incredibly dubious and raised a brow. "Girl, that picture even has you doin' that thing with your teeth like you can't keep all of them in your head."

And just like that, the spell was broken and she turned to James. "Oh fuck you!"

Her friend didn't seem even remotely apologetic. "Hey, I just call it like I see it."

James was trying to calm her down by bringing the conversation back to their normal fairly vapid level and she appreciated the effort from him. What the fuck was going to happen now?

And as if God himself decided the answer her, the news anchor stopped talking and listened to whatever was being fed to her over her earbud. She then nodded and began speaking again. "I've received word that the Department of Defense is asking anyone who fits the description of the girl in the photo to please report to your nearest law enforcement station."

Oh shit shit shit. How was this happening? It was like a bad dream or something. "I need to call my brother," Rey said frantically scrolling through her contacts to get the Navy emergency line. It was a long shot and she knew it but she had to at least try. It rang quite a few times before a slightly frazzled voice came on the line. "This is the United States Naval Station in Norfolk. My name is Joanna Harrison, ID number 423067. How can I help you?"

Rey took a breath. "Yes, my name is Reyna Gillespie. I need to speak to my brother, Lieutenant Poe Dameron. He's on CVN-69 Dwight D. Eisenhower."

The operator began speaking almost before Rey had finished. "Ma'am, we have a backlog of calls."

Of that, Rey had little doubt. "My face is on the goddamn TV. I need to speak with my brother."

There was silence for a few seconds from the woman but Rey could hear her typing something in the background before she responded. "Ma'am, we have your contact information on file. We will notify your brother of your call and he will contact you as soon as he is able."

Her eyes slid shut as she hung up the phone. She turned back to James. "What the fuck am I gonna do?"

James looked at her. "That guy seemed pretty serious about blowing us all to hell. So I'm gonna say you need to hightail it down to the precinct cause I love you, but I'm not ready to die yet."

Her eyes slid closed again and she took another breath. God dammit. She had plans for fucks sake. But realistically, there was no way she was the girl that that guy was looking for. Rey was nothing special, just a marketing exec at a mid-level firm. One of billions of people on Earth. He had to be looking for someone else. Some one whom she shared a face with. Rey nervously fingered her mother's wedding ring as it hung from the fragile chain around her neck.

She grimaced, biting her lip as she watched the news cycle through the information and the talking heads took over. "What do you think he looks like under there?" she wondered aloud. It was a shallow question—not really deserving of an answer in light of the fact that there were space ships circling the planet. James as always, had an answer.

He shrugged offhandedly. "Baby, you don't wear a grudge mask like that unless you look like something that got dredged up from the bottom of a lake."

There were times when she appreciated James's brand of wit. This was not one of those times. "Oh, that's just making me feel so much better."

Rey looked around at the people still lingering watching the news before turning and walking away. Some eyed her speculatively and she heard the whispers follow her as she left the living area and headed for her bedroom. James followed behind her and she clenched her fists as she entered the master suite.

"Shut the door, please," she said evenly. Rey didn't need people gawking at her as she figured out what her next steps were.

James closed the door behind him and she walked over the large window and looked out over the city. She fingered the ring that circled her throat again and her words were barely more than a whisper. "There are like, what, a dozen people on the planet at a time that all could be identical twins?" Rey asked as she searched the sky again for any sign of the ship that was headed their way.

She could see James's reflection in the glass and his answering nod. "So you've got like a million to one chance that it's actually you." He was trying to be supportive and she smiled slightly. It wasn't quite the right math, but it was close enough. She didn't really believe she was going to be carried off by Black Mask, but . . .

"We're going to the precinct which is only a couple of blocks but afterwards . . . if they don't send me away, I want you to come back here and wait this out. Better than trying to get a cab back to your place."

James was rarely serious, but he nodded and took her hand. "It's going to be okay."

She had to believe that. "It's not me," she said quietly.

He shrugged. "Probably not. Though he could do a lot worse."

She shook her head and smiled a bit. "I couldn't. Why does he even want with this girl that he's looking for?"

"Well, he's probably no Harrison Ford, but maybe he's a king or something and he's looking for a lost relative . . . or girlfriend."

She rolled her eyes at how cliche that sounded. "Or maybe he's going to eat whoever it is that he's looking for."

James tilted his head and went and sat down on her bed. "I don't think some alien wackjob is gonna fly his ass all the way here to find one person just to eat her."

She grimaced and pulled her sequined black top off and threw it on the bed. "You don't know that. What if human flesh is some kind of rare delicacy?"

James shook his head. "They wouldn't be asking for a specific person if that was the case."

Rey pulled open her closet and grabbed a folded grey henley and pulled it on, toeing off her nude pumps as she went.

She looked over the multitude of clothing she had. Most of it had cost far more than she should have ever spent but they were investment pieces. "Should I pack some stuff?"

James came up behind her and looked pensive for a second. "I don't know. You probably don't want to be dragging a suitcase around with you through the city. Maybe just a couple things you can fit into your pockets."

She nodded. Black Mask didn't seem the type to put up with a rolo. She grabbed a pair of socks before heading into her bathroom. Rey sat on the toilet and pulled the thin cotton over her feet and looked around at all the expensive serums and lotions she'd collected. This morning it had all meant something to her. None of it meant anything now. She swallowed before getting up and walking back out empty-handed.

As Rey thought over what she really wanted, the only thing she could think of was her mini ipad. It had most of her extensive movie, music, and book collections on it. It had her photos and videos of her friends and her brother and a few old scans from her parents. If she ended up leaving this planet for who knew how long, she wanted to keep her memories. Everything else was just . . . excess.

Rey pulled on her most comfortable set of knee high black boots and tucked her jeans inside. She didn't have too many purses but she grabbed her favorite cross-body bag; a dark leather one with tan and burgundy flowers, and looped it over her shoulder and hip. She pulled her blue hooded coat over everything and picked up a scarf.

She looked around at her bedroom again. It was everything she'd dreamed of for over a decade. Years of education and work had gotten her here—double degrees followed by an MBA. They'd cost her three years of eating ramen and rice in a five hundred square foot basement apartment to pay off her debt, even with her generous salary. It was supposed to have all been worth it. Poe was supposed to retire from the Navy in a couple of years and then he'd work as a flight instructor or perhaps as a private pilot for a wealthy family. She would have her brother back and they'd live the high life in NYC. She'd had it all planned out.

Rey thinned her lips. There was nothing to worry about. She didn't need to bring a suitcase full of stuff with her because she'd be coming back. Black Mask was looking for one girl. It probably didn't matter which one, so long as they matched the description he'd given.

She would keep herself off to the side and away from notice and then she'd be back here in her loft and she'd be back to work by Monday morning. Rey nodded to herself. There was nothing to be concerned about, really. Everything would be fine.

The dark haired girl slipped her ipad into her bag and wrapped up a couple of charging cords and stuffed them in next. Her wallet and a few other small 'purse items' were thrown in. She'd need them while traveling anyway. James was eyeing her but he said nothing as he followed her out into the living room. More people had cleared out since she'd last been in there. The ones still there looked at her guiltily and she knew what they were thinking.

Rey sighed. "I'm going, goddammit."

She wrapped herself up in the scarf and pulled the hood of her coat down low. It was a ten minute walk to her local police station and she didn't want to risk anyone stopping or delaying her.

She turned to James. "You'll go with me . . . right?"

Her friend nodded emphatically. "Of course," he said as he turned to the people who lingered. "Alright, everyone out."

No one put up a fight as they were ushered out the door and they all looked at her like she was on her way to the hangman. Rey met their eyes evenly and did not let a shred of fear or doubt cloud her features. If she wasn't turned away at the precinct, she'd be back in a couple of days and this whole thing might even be good publicity for her job.

When everyone was well away, Rey checked her bag to make sure she had everything one more time before nodding and the pair made their way out. She locked the door behind her and slipped the keys into her pocket. They were both silent as they made their way down to the street. She came to a halt at the entrance of her building.

It was chaos as the population tried to decide if it was the end of the world or not. People were yelling and cars were honking their horns while others were stock still staring into the sky. The general discontent hadn't degenerated into looting or an all-out riot yet but she could tell that violence was brewing.

Rey kept her hood low over her face as she and James stayed close to the buildings, away from the road where the majority of the activity was taking place. What must these aliens be thinking of us, she thought, eyeing the crowd. Their steps were quick and James kept an arm around her as they turned a corner. She recognized their location and stopped, looking around.

Her eyes landed on a familiar sight and she turned to James and said quietly, "Just one stop."

He looked at her, his brows drawn together but he nodded none the less as she pointed to the tiny store up ahead. Just as they were about to go inside, the owner, a man in his fifties was attempting to pull down the metal grating that would protect his shop.

She tapped him on the shoulder and gestured inside. "I just need one thing. I'll pay cash."

The man looked at her and she knew he recognized her face. He stared for a long moment before nodding and muttering, "Make it quick."

She pulled her hood down as she walked quickly inside and was in the back in only a few seconds. She hardly ever went down this aisle, only occasionally picking up a cheap pair of earbuds if she happened to have forgotten her usual set. The aisle was full of overpriced electronics ranging from slightly outdated cd and dvd players to disposable cell phones and radios. But none of that was what she was looking for. Her eyes glided over the gaudy and expensive merchandise before settling on what she was looking for.

She picked up the white and blue cardboard box that proudly proclaimed the item to be a solar charger for USB devices. Rey was resolute she wouldn't be going anywhere but . . . she might be sitting in an airport or something on the way back and need a way to charge her phone. The girl took a stiff breath and mentally nodded to herself as she picked up the small box and headed for the front of the store.

James was waiting for her along with the older man by the checkout counter. Rey set the box down and added two chocolate bars as well. She pulled out her wallet and picked three crisp twenty dollar bills from the pocket. She held them out to the shop owner and he looked at her again and she wondered what he was thinking. Did he know her as the girl on TV or as the workaholic who stopped in there almost every morning getting a danish and coffee? He looked down at the charger and then at her face and she could tell that he knew exactly what she was doing.

He waved his hand at her before he pushed the items back at her. "Take it. No charge."

Her hand trembled slightly as she held the money out. Everyone thought it was her. Rey's jaw tightened as she set the bills down onto the counter. "I'll be back for the change on Monday," she said firmly before taking the box and the candy.

She held the items tightly to her chest as they walked out of the shop and back into the street. She quickly pulled her hood back up and the chocolate was immediately stuffed into her pocket. She shivered as the lights in the shop went out behind them. James lead her off to a side alley beside a dumpster. The smell would have made a normal person wretch but that was New York. Her hands were trembling so badly by then that James had to take the box from her and pull everything out himself. He unwrapped the components and helped her put the flat charger into her bag. It was tucked in beside the ipad and the bag hidden away again under her coat before they stepped back out into the chaos.

The pair avoided everyone else as they came closer to the police station. She stopped outside of the blue double doors of the ninth precinct. The green lanterns flanking the entrance glowed in the darkness and it was hard to tear her eyes away from the terrified people coming and going from the stone building. James tugged on her but she was having trouble moving any further.

Rey turned to her friend. "It's probably not me—like maybe he'll take anyone who looks like that. Maybe I can just go home and it won't matter," she said, panic lacing through her voice.

James put his hands on her shoulders and held her in place. "But it might matter. If it is you that he's looking for and you don't go in there, people could die. Your brother; your friends; everyone. I've seen Independence Day fourteen times and I'd rather not live through it, thank you very much." It was the most serious she'd ever seen him and she nodded, licking her parched lips before turning back to the station. James wrapped an arm around her waist as she finally came to the doors. He pulled one open and ushered her inside.

The place was a madhouse of yelling people and cops scrambling to accommodate the numerous complaints and criminals being dragged in. But the worst was the women. There were women everywhere speaking to anyone who would listen.

"It's me!"

"I'm her."

"I'm ready to go back to my homeworld!"

Rey looked around incredulously at the line of women waiting to speak to the person at the front desk. She took a step back but James stopped her. Up until now, she'd been half hoping that this was some sort of practical joke, like War of the Worlds or something.

"It's okay. Let's get in line," he whispered into her ear.

She nodded and they got behind a woman with long frizzy auburn hair that was covered in freckles. She was clutching an overnight bag and sighing as she replayed the video of the alien on her phone over and over again. She was obviously there for the same reason as Rey but even with the sketch flashing across the screen repeatedly, the lady still thought that she was what the creature in the mask was looking for. If only, Rey thought.

The red-head wasn't the only one though. Rey noticed that many of the women in the line as well as waiting around looked nothing like the picture. They ranged in size and shape from someone that Rey was almost positive was a man under that sequined red dress to a bottle blonde woman with mocha colored skin. Why were they there? she thought desperately, Why would they all want to go?

Fifteen minutes later, she finally made it to the front desk. There was a blonde lady cop behind the counter who wasn't looking at her. Rey stood there in silence as the woman finished filling out a form of some kind. The officer looked like she'd rather be pulling out her own teeth than doing what she was currently assigned. Rey sympathized as she looked over the crowd of women (and a few men) that waited off to the side.

The woman pulled out another form but still hadn't looked up at Rey as she began to fill in a new form. "Let me guess, you're ready to fly away with your dark prince."

Rey blinked. "Uh no. I really don't want to be here."

The cop actually looked up at that and Rey pulled her hood and scarf down. She was almost certain her face was pure misery. The woman's eyes narrowed and she pulled a small piece of paper off her desk and held it up towards Rey's face. It had to be the picture that the creature had flashed on the TV.

She bit her lip. "Should I wait with the others?"

The cop shook her head rapidly. "Ah . . . no," she said as she pointed towards Rey firmly. "You stay right there."

The cop clicked something on her radio and said, "Captain, there is a girl out here who fits the description."

"On my way."

Rey looked over at James and her face fell as her friend reached over and squeezed her hand. She had hoped to be turned away but that apparently wasn't happening. A few minutes later, a tall dark haired man came out and his eyes were glued to her as he came closer. She also couldn't help but notice that more and more of the people and cops in the precinct were now looking at her.

The captain came to stand in front of her and he scrutinized her face. Her brows knitted at the inspection. "You want to look at my teeth too?" she asked sarcastically.

He snorted. "No. I had heard they found a perfect match out in Iowa. I didn't expect to have anyone actually matching the photo walking in here."

"If they found a match, then can I go home?" she asked, unable to keep the note of hope from her voice.

The captain shook his head. "No. Come with me and we'll go over your itinerary."

"Itin—where am I going?" she asked, her brow furrowed in confusion.

"We'll discuss it in private," he said, his eyes darting towards the group of men and women who waited but were rather unsubtly eavesdropping on their conversation.

Rey nodded and turned to James but the captain spoke again. "Just you. We can't let anything leak."

Rey rubbed the bridge of her nose before meeting the man's gaze once more. "Alright," she said before turning back to James. "I guess this is it," she said, her tone shaky and she fought to keep tears from filling her eyes.

He hugged her. "It's not. You'll be back before you know it," he said encouragingly.

She nodded and kept those words repeating in her mind. I'll come back.

* * *

It's been a while but I'm back with another story. I don't post everything I write on but this one is worthy of a posting on here. I've been working on this story since March and it is currently 130K words of unedited text. I will be updating on Fridays depending on the schedules of myself and my two lovely and gracious betas, Firelord65 andCopper_Nails. I might try to get more chapters out later but I'm also working on a few other fics and going to school. If you'd like to stay up to date on my progress and what I'm doing, you can follow me on tumblr sophiascribbling


	2. Chapter 2

France. That was where she was headed. The captain had stuffed her into the backseat of a cop car, and she'd been escorted to La Guardia where she'd been placed into a private holding room to wait until it was time to leave. Two hours later, she and a few other girls were put on a plane bound for Paris. The flight had been . . . odd, to say the least. The private plane was incredibly luxurious and she wondered which of the politicians and government higher-ups, who were also aboard that it belonged to. The politicians and their attachés kept their distance from Rey and the three other girls, the curtain to their cabin drawn closed. The atmosphere on the plane was pretty somber and quiet—for the most part.

Rey had not looked at any of the other girls since she boarded and most of them returned the favor. She'd known that there would be others that shared some similarities with Rey . . . but knowing and seeing were two different things. They could have been her sisters, and Rey found it more than a little unnerving. The four of them all had the same dark hair, the same eyes and facial structure. It was like being in some kind of crazy fun house.

One of the girls, Bianca, was excited. She'd been on the airplane phone for almost two hours after the plane took off. Rey was now aware that she was from Mississippi and she was currently a student at a beauty school. The other girl been spinning every shade of hyperbole about whether or not she was a long lost princess or queen. Rey thought she was delusional but kept her mouth shut. Black Mask didn't seem like the type of person to go looking for someone who would have power over him. But then she'd only heard a modulated voice and seen a vicious looking mask. It wasn't much to go on.

She'd seen one of the ships from the airport in New York. All air traffic had been grounded but she'd overheard that there was some kind of communication going on between the government and the aliens. They were aware that the plane she'd left in carried at least one person matching the image. _Were they watching?_ she wondered—scanning and probing their plane and _looking?_

Rey had her ipad and headphones out, and she couldn't help watching the video again as she nibbled on one of her chocolate bars. The man in the mask had spoken perfect english and she'd heard from some of the newscasts that the message he'd given had been spoken in over twenty different languages around the world. She'd rewatched the video in every one she could find on Youtube. Perhaps there was some clue as to why he was looking for this girl or perhaps she'd spot a giant mole that would disqualify Rey from the selection. She couldn't tell much from from the video except that the background was dark with low red light that shone off the almost checkered black fabric of his hood. And, seriously, who the hell dressed like that?

He looked human in form. He had a head and a torso with arms and his eyes seemed to be in the right place. But he could have purple skin with seething pustules under there. Rey had been around good looking people her whole life and if instagram had taught her anything, men and women weren't so different when it came to sheer narcissism. Black Mask was covered completely which didn't bode well for him in the looks department, as far as she was concerned.

She'd eventually given up on finding some way out of this and shut the machine down. Bianca was softly snoring in the seat behind Rey so the plane was quiet for now. The other two girls were reading or listening to music. Were they internally panicking like she was and just better at hiding it? You'd think a girl could pick up on facial cues from other people who had the same face.

A man in a navy suit came from the front cabin and passed by them. He inconspicuously looked all four girls over before continuing towards the rear where the bathroom was located. He didn't introduce himself or stop to speak, but something about the way he'd looked at them didn't sit well with Rey.

 _There was nothing to be done about it,_ she thought looking out her window again. Her eyes began to drift shut and it felt like only a few minutes passed when she was abruptly awoken by the loud voices of the other passengers. Bianca was oohing and ahhing over something in the seat behind Rey. They were still in the air but everyone was looking out the tiny windows. Rey blinked several times before looking towards her window and peering out into the dawning light of Paris, France—only it wasn't quite the right amount of sunlight. Everything was in shadow.

The reason for the darkness loomed in the distance over the sprawling city. It was the arrow-head shaped ship from the pictures and it was _massive._ The photos hadn't really been able to depict the sheer size it, and Rey had never seen anything so large. _These aliens could wipe them all out,_ she realized with dawning horror. It made the one in New York look like a child's toy, easily overshadowing it many times over. The damn thing was _miles_ long! There could to be tens if not _hundreds_ of thousands of people aboard that ship.

One of the other girls had moved so she was in the seat in front of Rey and she heard the girl whisper, "Fuck me . . . we are _so_ screwed."

Rey found she agreed with the sentiment. No one built ships like that without intending to use them. Black Mask was almost assuredly aware of the plane as it was the only other thing in the sky. Perhaps the girl he was looking for was one of the three aboard with her—perhaps it was Bianca. Rey almost hoped it was since then at least one person would get something out of this mess. The plane circled a few times, allowing Rey and the other girls to look over the city, and more specifically at the chaos that was raging below them. There were clouds of smoke billowing up from several locations and thick knots of people surging and writhing through the streets.

As they circled, Rey spotted the reason for the delay in landing. Another plane was arriving. _Other girls,_ she thought with a sigh. Eventually, they were cleared for landing and the plane jolted a bit as the seatbelt sign came on. She sat still, her eyes unmoved from the city outside as the plane finally made contact with the tarmac and came to a stop. The politicians disembarked first and Rey watched while everyone pulled their luggage from the overhead bins. She gathered all of her things and stuffed them all back into her purse.

A small caravan of black sedans with tinted windows waited for them outside on the tarmac. Men and women in dark suits took the suitcases and held them off to the side while she and the others were ushered towards the cars. The airport was completely devoid of everyday people and it seemed as though it had been cleared out with not one person in sight who wasn't there in some official capacity. There was a woman there in a pressed cream suit making sure directing the procession of politicians into their vehicles. Other than the woman, everyone else was dressed in either a suit and shades or in SWAT gear. Subtlety was apparently not valued by the security personnel.

Rey watched with more than a touch of trepidation as one of the girls—Bianca didn't immediately follow the requests of the woman in the suit. At which point, one of the security guys took her by the arm and began pulling her to a car.

Biana called out. "What about my stuff? I can't leave Earth without my essentials!"

The man turned and eyed them but Rey had no way of knowing what he was thinking while he wore those dark sunglasses. "Your suitcases are being checked over and will be returned to you at the embassy. Now _please._ Get in the car."

Bianca looked ready to say something else but apparently even she noticed that she was sitting in the middle of a powder keg of bad ideas and nodded before getting into the backseat of the sedan. The other girls followed suit quietly

Rey looked from the man to the woman. "That's where we're headed? The American Embassy?"

She nodded shortly. "It's the only place we can be assured of your protection until it's time for the meet."

Rey stood there as the other women got into the car before turning back to the man and asking, "Is it that bad out there?"

"Worse," she said, her tone clipped.

Rey didn't say anything else. What was there to say? She got into the car and even Bianca was silent during the trip into the city. Rey tried not to wallow in self pity as the empty fields around the airport gave way to the trees of the suburbs followed by the beautiful architecture of the ancient french city. She'd intended to visit Paris next year and perhaps she could still make that trip. Of course, that all depended on whether there was even a Paris still there.

She pulled out her phone and looked at the time. They still had roughly sixteen hours until the alien was supposed to show up. She had a ton of missed calls while she'd been on the plane but none were from Poe.

Rey cleared her throat and leaned forward a bit in her seat. "Excuse me."

One of the security personnel looked back at her from the front passenger seat. "Yes?"

"I . . . My brother. I still haven't been able to speak with him. I called him before but he hasn't called me back, yet."

"I'm sorry, I'm not sure how I can help you with that," he said with a shrug.

Now she felt a little stupid. "Oh! Uh. My brother is a pilot for the Navy. Lieutenant Poe Dameron. He's stationed aboard the CVN-69 Eisenhower. I called the Navy operator and they said they would let him know that I called but I still haven't heard from him."

The man punched a few things into his phone before answering. "The Eisenhower is currently in the Mediterranean and is on high alert. Him being a pilot, he will be on standby near his plane waiting for orders. He won't be able to call you until this is all over."

Her brows knitted together. She'd thought as much but there had been a sliver of hope that maybe she would get to talk to him. Rey sat back and did her best to hold it together. _There was nothing to afraid of._ Black Mask would carry Miss Bianca off to be his space queen or whatever fairytale she was spinning for herself. Rey would go back to New York and everything would be normal again.

The car slowed down as they came closer to the city center and Rey couldn't help her gasp as an egg hit the window of the sedan. There was yelling and screaming outside as people rioted in the streets. There were french police everywhere trying to hold back the crowds as the short caravan made its way towards the gates of the embassy. Soldiers moved around spraying people with gas and pushing them away from the American consulate.

One of the girls reached over and grabbed Rey's hand. Rey hadn't spoken to her before and didn't even know her name but she squeezed the other girl's fingers. It was slow but they eventually passed through the gates and pulled up in front of the main building. She got out and saw that the the other girls were already being shown inside. Rey looked out at the men and women yelling from the other side of the iron bars. They were all speaking french so she had no idea what was being said but it didn't sound complimentary.

The security guy put a hand on her shoulder. "Time to go inside."

Rey nodded and allowed him to lead her into the lavish building that was swarming with American travelers, diplomats, and gaggles of people who she instantly recognized as interns by their harried expressions as they darted this way and that like minnows in a pond. She looked over as she heard two smartly dressed men discussing what was happening.

"They've been communicating with us?"

"It's been very limited, but they have been sending communiques to the French government. It seems as though they are just as eager to leave as we are to get them out of here. They don't seem to think much of us."

The security guy seemed to pick up on what she was hearing and he ushered her away before she could hear anything else. There were several lines of people including the other girls going through the metal detectors and she could see them fighting with their purses and the suitcases that had appeared.

The security guy looked over at her. "We didn't find a suitcase for you."

Rey shrugged. "I didn't bring one. There's no point. I'll be back in New York when this is all over."

He raised a brow at her but didn't say anything else. She walked past the other girls and pulled her coat off before emptying her own purse of its contents into a bin. They went through the scanner and she stepped through the body scanner with no problem. The guard was distracted, Rey could tell. He probably wanted to be at home with his family. As it was he barely glanced over everything in the bin, only half paying attention before pulling the solar charger out and running it through the machine again.

Bianca pushed forward a bit, "Is this gonna take much longer? I have phone calls to make. I don't want my stuff going to my sister after I leave."

The man waved Rey through with a sigh and she picked her meager belongings back up. She placed everything carefully back in her bag and looped it back over her shoulder. It wasn't cold but she put her trench back on anyway. Rey glanced back to see a few of the other girls talking to one another while their luggage was searched again. Perhaps she should have packed more. A toothbrush, maybe. Perhaps someone here would be able to get one for her.

Rey wasn't really sure what to do from there so she stood off to the side looking at her phone for a few minutes while people walked briskly around the lobby. Rey was in the middle of connecting to the embassy's wifi when a pair of glossy black shoes came to a stop in front of her. Rey looked up and met the gaze of a tall man with ash blond hair and blue eyes. He was dressed in a sharp navy suit with a dark red tie and the small American flag pin on his lapel identified his nationality. It took her a second but she eventually recognized him as the man from the plane.

His voice was smooth and controlled as he spoke. "Miss Gillespie, I'm Michael Fallinger. I'm one of the liaisons with homeland security handling the . . . situation."

She locked the phone and put it back in her pocket. "Is that what they're calling it?" she asked dubiously.

He nodded and the barest hint of an insincere smile crossed his face. "We just want to make sure everything goes smoothly." Oh, she bet. They probably couldn't wait for this mess to be over. The man's gaze was cool and she got the impression that he'd be alright with blasting every single one of the girls into orbit if it would get Black Mask and his armada away from Earth. She'd seen the news feed while she'd been on the plane. The economies in several countries were on the verge of collapse and religious zealots were taking this as a sign of impending destruction at the hands of God and his angels. Rey was ninety-five percent sure God wasn't partial to computer modulated voices and star ships. But hell, what did she know?

She shrugged. "Well I can understand you not wanting the planet to get blown up, yes."

Fallinger's gaze narrowed a bit and Rey felt as though she were being searched in some way. The feeling only lasted a few seconds before it receded and he took on an air of indifference. "I'll show you to your room. You will all be staying here until it's time."

"How much longer?"

"There are fourteen hours and and twenty one minutes left until the deadline. You and the other . . . ladies will be moved from here in approximately twelve hours and fifty minutes."

She looked up at him and caught him eyeing the other women with an expression of complete apathy, as if none of them were worthy of the fuss being made. And perhaps they weren't but none of them had asked to be there either.

Rey narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't look at them like that."

That snapped the man out of whatever he'd been thinking. "Like what?"

"Like we're _inconveniencing_ you," she said sharply.

He blinked down at her and she again felt that feeling as though he were looking through her. She shoved it away and he blinked again before taking a long breath. "I apologize if I seem callous. It's been an . . . eventful day."

She nodded and he gestured for her to follow him. The loud noise of the lobby faded as they walked silently down the deserted corridor.

* * *

Yes, this is a slower chapter but this is stuff that will come into play later. I promise you guys, even if a chapter doesn't seem to have a lot going on, there is. If I could have written less and gotten this story out sooner, I would have. That being said, I'll be posting another chapter with this one so you won't have to wait long. :) Also, this site isn't letting my italics copy over from my original document but I'm trying to remember to go back and add them back in. ~S


	3. Chapter 3

Rey sat with thirteen other girls all ranging from looking like her twin to a close cousin. They were from all over the world; the noise inside large bus was a cacophony of different languages as many of them struggled to communicate with one another. Rey had barely spoken to anyone since the ordeal had begun. She kept her eyes on the churning angry crowds beyond the darkened windows of the vehicle.

She sighed as the evening light faded. Her last meal had been light as she'd had almost no appetite for the last twenty four hours. They'd asked her what she wanted to eat and Fallinger had urged her to choose whatever she wanted as this might be the last time she'd be able to have food from this planet. _Or we could all be blown to hell,_ she had thought.

She'd picked at the spinach lasagna, and it could have been from the nicest restaurant in the city, but she'd barely tasted it and only ate a few bites before she felt sick. Poe still hadn't been able to call her back, but she'd talked to James a few times. He'd high-tailed it back to her condo like she'd told him to, and the last time she had spoken to him, he'd been watching the news in her living room and eating her leftover chinese. At least her fridge would be clean when she came back.

As the approached the designated meeting spot, the noise quieted. Even Bianca had piped down as the seconds ticked by and they came up to Champ de Mars, the park in front of the tower. It was directly below the massive ship and what little light might have been there normally was completely blotted out by the megalith. Fallinger looked vaguely nervous and she had a feeling it was a foreign concept to him. She didn't hold it against him, though. The situation, as he'd called it, was enough to elicit quite a few unfamiliar feelings in everyone.

She and the others filed off the bus and made their way through the grass to the center of the field. They had another forty-five minutes until the deadline and Rey moved to what she hoped would be the back of the group. She looked around at all the people crowding around the park. Signs in french and english waved around and she couldn't help but feel embarrassed again for her race. First contact with aliens they degenerated into a swarm of indignation. _But then Black Mask hadn't needed to be such a douche either,_ she thought sourly.

It was cold out so she tucked her bag away and buttoned up her trench coat. She had her keys in her hand and eyed the small gifts that Poe had given her before leaving on his last tour: a mini can of mace and a rape whistle.

"If I'm not around, at least you'll have something," he had said. She rubbed her fingers over the can as if she might still feel him there, but he was hundreds of miles from her and she knew she wouldn't hear from him for a while. Rey blinked for a second before pulling her phone out again and stepping a few paces away from the other girls.

She saw Fallinger give her warning look and it took every ounce of willpower not to flip him the bird. Rey turned to face away from him and everyone else but didn't go any further. She saw the flashes of cameras in her periphery but they meant nothing to her as she pressed the necessary buttons and for the first time this whole mess had started, tears pricked her eyes.

She pulled the phone up and began speaking into it. "Hi, this is Rey. I may or may not have been carried off by an alien. If I have . . . Poe, I love you and I'll try my best to return. I . . ."

Rey stopped the recording and saved it. She didn't want to say any more. Adding more about what people should do if she was taken . . . it didn't bear thinking about. She blinked back tears as a hush fell over the crowd and she abruptly turned to look up at the sky.

 _They were early . . ._

A dark shuttle of some kind dropped down from the ship and almost lazily flew down towards the park. It reminded her of a giant black bat. _Fitting,_ she thought, _that Black Mask would fly around in a fucking batmobile._ And somehow, she knew Black Mask was aboard. He would be there in person to pick the right girl. There was little she could be sure of given the situation, but she knew that he was there.

The wings drew up to point towards the sky as the ship landed in front of the group. There were the fourteen girls plus Fallinger and two other people, a man and woman who she thought might be some kind of diplomatic negotiators. What kind of negotiations they thought they'd get out of Black Mask, she didn't know.

The ship landed with a thud and she felt the ground tremble slightly. Or maybe that was just her. Rey kept herself well in the back of the group and as far from what was about to happen as possible. She was thanking God she hadn't eaten much because she was sure she would have thrown it all up as the ramp lowered and plumes of steam and gas rushed from the ship.

The first ones out of the ship were white suited soldiers; perhaps a dozen of them, their faces covered by white and black helmets. They had weapons and looked incredibly human in overall structure. They were followed by four more men, but these were wearing royal blue robes of a velvet like material over their black armor. Their helmets were a matching blue and they had black visor that obscured their faces. They stood to attention beside the ramp.

 _Did they all cover their faces?_ she wondered. Was it a scare tactic? Perhaps they were _all_ so hideous under those masks that they thought the humans would be put off if they showed themselves. Like the predators from those movies. A few seconds ticked by before a figure dressed in head to toe black almost stalked out of the ship. He was tall, and just . . . _big._ His arms were heavily muscled but he had ten fingers just like a human.

 _What are you?_ she wondered.

Fallinger stayed by the girls but the two negotiators walked hesitantly up to Black Mask. She was too far away to hear what they were saying but whatever it was, it didn't impress the alien as he walked past them without responding.

She recognized Bianca at the front of the group by her white coat, though even she was hesitating when faced with what was actually happening. Black Mask walked silently through the group, coming to a stop in front of each of them, his head tilting slightly before moving on to the next.

Some of the girls stepped forward as he approached while others stepped back. One by one, they were dismissed and Rey felt her anxiety rising with each brush-off. He finally stopped before a girl who stood a few paces in front of Rey. His hand came up and Rey was breathing a sigh of relief as the girl exclaimed, "Oh my God!"

But he shoved her aside and the other girl staggered a bit on her heels, barely staying upright. Rey felt her head shaking minutely in denial as he came closer to her, and her breathing was coming in short pants. Her fight or flight response was kicking in and all she wanted to do was _run._

Rey couldn't help looking behind her to see if there was someone, _anyone_ else behind her, but there was no one there. She was the last and he was _standing in front of her._ Black Mask was silent for a few seconds before he leaned forward ever so slightly.

"There you are," he murmured, a curious note in his voice that Rey could hear even through the modulator.

She licked her dry lips and took a step back. He followed and closed the distance. "You're afraid of me," he said after a moment.

Rey blinked several times before she finally found her voice. "You don't exactly inspire feelings of warmth and comfort, no. Your mask is uh . . . unique."

His head tilted. "I'll remove it soon, I promise. For now I need it for you to understand me."

She nodded dumbly. His mask was some kind of translator, she realized. Perhaps that's why they all wore helmets. His fingers wrapped around her wrist and he pulled on her almost gently. "Come, we are leaving."

He was leading her through the group and everyone stepped out of her way. Some looked relieved while others were spitting jealous poison at her. "Um. Are you sure you have the right person?" she couldn't help asking.

He didn't stop walking. "Fairly sure."

"Because, really, you might be happier with her." Rey pointed over at Bianca who looked ready to burst into tears.

Black Mask didn't even turn around as he answered, "I'll keep that in mind."

Her eyes met Fallinger's and they narrowed as she saw that he didn't seem in the least bit surprised that Rey was being dragged off. She longed to call out for him to do something—to keep this man from kidnapping her.

As if reading her thoughts, Black Mask came to an abrupt halt and turned back to her. He looked over at Fallinger for a long moment but the other man didn't meet his gaze. The alien finally looked back down at her. "Do not fight this. Your world will burn if you do."

She swallowed but nodded and followed quietly after him as he lead her the rest of the way to his ship. She was doing her best not to start hyperventilating as they boarded. He took her towards the front of the shuttle, and the soldiers followed them back inside. At first Black Mask kept a few paces between them, but he was staring at her and as the minutes went by he got closer and closer. Rey tried her best to sink into the metal wall of the ship.

He was only inches from her and his robes were brushing against her legs. "Don't be afraid. I just want to see you." He reached up and she couldn't stop her flinch but he only lowered the hood down. Her eyes narrowed as she watched his hands catch on some kind of clasp and the helmet's front detached. There was a gaseous release as he lifted the mask up and off his head.

Rey blinked and she knew her jaw had dropped, staring at the man in front of her. That's what he was, a man. His long dark hair is softly curled around his face and he had a prominent nose and deep set eyes but he was strikingly beautiful in an unusual way. It was . . . not what she was expecting.

Her words were a whisper. "You're human?"

His eyes moved over her face as if really seeing it for the first time. "Skora tareche," he said. She didn't know what that meant but he seemed to understand her question.

"Why—Why did you take me?" she whispered aloud, though she knew she wouldn't be able to understand his response.

His hand came up again and his index finger rested below her chin before tilting her face up higher. He leaned in and his words were quiet. "Seeru mescha stromegah trejin ah. Sora exeha."

Her heart was racing at the proximity of Black Mask. She wasn't really a fan of being so close to strange people, much less giant threatening men. "I don't know what that means."

He didn't say anything in response, and he just stepped even closer. She felt the ship rumble and lift from the ground. Rey stumbled a bit but he caught her and held her so close she froze. Her eyes looked at the other guards, hoping for some kind of assistance in getting Black Mask off of her, but they were all resolutely turned away.

"Please let go of me," she begged softly.

"Ana crostega morin dorcha," the man in black said as his gloved fingers touched her neck.

Rey felt herself beginning to panic and her hand came up to his chest to push him away. It was like pushing on a cinderblock wall. Instead, his fingers wrapped around hers and held her hand there. She couldn't meet his eyes and she swallowed. She was breathing rapidly and her heart was racing once more. Why couldn't he just leave her alone?

"Sora exeha crategea amine."

He might not have been from earth but that tone of voice—that leering expression . . . She recognized what he saying to her. This nightmare would never end. Her mind was . . . clouded. An oddly familiar feeling of cold darkness enshrouded her thoughts and made her unable to think clearly. It was as if something was sucking the life out of her. Rey felt her fingers twitch as they went into her pocket and they brushed against her keys, more specifically, the tiny metal can. Rey needed him to get away from her—just for a few minutes so she could breathe and put the pieces of her mind back together.

In the years to come, Rey would never be quite sure if she regretted her next action or not.

His face was all but buried in her neck as her index finger laid over the trigger of the can. She suddenly pushed on him with all her might and it was enough to distract him into looking at her. One minute, he was mesmerized, the next he was screaming and clutching at his face.

She blinked as she looked at the tiny can in her hand. She'd _maced Black Mask._ The guards were swarming around her as the alien yelled and screamed, almost assuredly cursing her existence.

And then the dark shuttle was bathed in red light.

He was swinging around a sword of red energy and it was _slicing through soldiers_ and bulkheads like a hot knife through butter. She couldn't help screaming as it swung inches from her head. She ducked down and all but crawled under a seat as the mad man kept swinging the sword, hitting structures and anything around him in his ferocious anger.

 _Holy shit, I'm gonna die._ He was going to kill them all if he kept swinging that thing around! The vessel shuttered again and she knew they had landed on the larger ship. Black Mask had stopped yelling and she looked up to meet the furious bloodshot eyes of her captor. The ramp lowered behind him and she was about to make a break for it when it felt like tendrils had encircled her neck.

Rey began choking. The only noises she could make were desperate coughs. She couldn't breath! She clawed at the invisible force and her eyes never left his. He was doing this to her! He was _killing_ her! The guards filed out, not looking over at her and not picking up the two fallen soldiers that lay on the ground.

Seconds went by and she felt her consciousness fading. This was how she was going to die. Choked to death by a creature who looked human but was a monster. Just as she felt the last of her strength slip away, the tendril receded and she gasped for breath, coughing.

The man's entire body seemed to tremble with rage as he glared at her. "Grishn'a chopntegrin stajen dega'ah," he spat out at her, his eyes shining with fury and disgust before turning and walking out, the ramp closing behind him. The ship went pitch black as the door closed and locked.

He'd—He'd left her in there!

Rey struggled to get up, the metal grating of the floor digging into her knees. She heaved herself up and collapsed onto a seat. Her fingers trembled as she reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. The screen was intact and she turned on the flashlight function.

"Hello?" she croaked out, her voice hoarse.

There was no sound, no movement. She was alone with the smell of burning metal and cooked flesh. There were two dead soldiers lying on the ground. Black Mask had locked her in his ship with dead bodies!

 _This . . . This couldn't be happening!_


	4. Chapter 4

She'd been sitting in the ship for over a day, according to her phone. She only used the thing when she couldn't take the darkness any longer. And the _smell_ . . . the bodies had started decomposing and the stench made her nauseous. She'd also had to pee on the ground in a corner and _that_ lingering odor wasn't helping either. Rey was also _hungry._ She hadn't eaten much before the party at her loft, and she'd only picked at her meal in Paris. She'd been nibbling on the chocolate bar in her purse, taking a small bite every few hours when the pain was too much.

And she was thirsty. _Very_ thirsty. It wasn't something she'd considered needing to plan for. _How long is he going to leave me in here?_ she wondered. She'd screamed herself hoarse in the first few hours, but it had become painfully clear that even if someone could hear her, no one was going to let her out until the jackass in the mask decided she could come out.

From the look on his face as he'd stormed out, that might be a while. She'd been feeling light headed the last hour or so and her thoughts had been muzzily spinning around her head. Something important kept popping up in her mind but when she tried to grasp it, it slipped away.

The air was warm and moist around her. _The air . . ._

Rey blinked several times as she latched on to the thought, hunger and thirst forgotten. She—she was running out of air. She was slowly suffocating in there! Rey took several shallow breaths through her mouth as she thought over what she was going to do.

Was that man _really_ going to leave her in there to die? All that pomp and circumstance and he'd just thrown her aside. She was going to die on the floor of a mad alien's shuttle like a trapped rat. He'd seemed pretty set on the look of the girl that he wanted. Maybe he'd go back to Earth at some point, get another who wore Rey's face. Bianca, maybe. Would he or anyone else tell her what had happened to Rey? Would he gloss over the fact that he'd decided to give her a slow death via suffocation in the dark of his ship with nothing but the stench of death and her own morbid thoughts for company?

Tears welled up in her eyes, but she fought them back. A few fell anyway een as she berated herself for wasting precious water crying over her sorry situation. If Black Mask thought she was just going to roll over and die, he had another thing coming. Rey hoisted herself up and turned on the flashlight on her phone. Her battery would drain faster, but she needed the light. She set the phone down on a bulkhead and let the bright light fill the space. There had to be something on the ship she could use. She checked the helmets of the soldiers first, gagging slightly as she met the cold sunken eyes of the dead man. He bled crimson just like she did. Rey looked away from the messy slash across his torso and neck.

She put the helmet on and could instantly hear chatter. Readouts flashed over the helmet's screen, but it was indecipherable, much like the chatter. The helmet wasn't airtight, either, so she discarded it.

She'd walked around the ship multiple times looking for a means of escape but aside from the cockpit-which was sealed-and the ramp-exit that Black Mask had left using, there was only one other door. It didn't have the same kind of lock-it didn't look to be locked at all, really. However there was no power in the ship and the door hadn't budged when she'd given it a cursory pull earlier.

At this point, though, she _had_ to get that door open. It might be her only hope.

Rey looked around the space for anything that could help her. The place looked like a war zone after Black Mask's tantrum. Her eyes scanned the wreckage before spotting a long, thin piece of metal that had once been attached to the wall.

"Maybe . . ."

Rey walked over and picked it up, hefting it in her hand. It was heavy but flat. It might work. "It _has_ to work," she said to herself, taking a breath as she jammed the bar into the side of the door and began using all of her strength to pry the damn thing open.

"Come on!" she growled loudly into the silence.

The thing wasn't budging but if she gave up, she might as well slit her own throat because there wasn't enough air to last her another day.

Rey tried again, pushing the bar and staring at the door. "Open, goddammit!"

The sound of metal scrapping against metal thundered through the ship and she nearly let out a whoop of joy when the door moved an inch. The Earth girl could see a sliver of darkness beyond and feel the tiniest puff of cool, oxygen rich air. She got close to the small opening and took a great breath, savoring the taste and simple joy of breathing in something that wasn't drenched in the odor of death.

Rey repositioned the bar and began pushing on it again, forcing the door open even further. Eventually, she got it open enough that she slipped a second large piece of down metal onto the ground to prop the door. She didn't think the door would close with no power but there was no reason to take a chance.

Rey grabbed her phone and stepped into the small room, taking large gulps of air before it completely dispersed into the main cabin. Her head already felt clearer, and she looked around for anything that might help her.

She moved the light around as she searched the compartment. There were suits, skin tight and sealed. She pulled on a drawer and could have cried right there. Tanks and clear helmets. Rey had never been a big believer in the big man in the sky, but if she ever made it back to Earth, she might take up the Sunday service again.

That was, of course, if she made it out of this tin coffin alive. Rey couldn't be entirely sure it was oxygen but it seemed as though Black Mask and the others breathed it so . . . she pulled the tanks out. There were four. Rey didn't know how much air was in each, so she'd need to ration it.

The air was already thinning out as the oxygen rich pocket mingled with the CO2 she'd been breathing in for the last day and a half. It wasn't bad enough yet that she would waste the air in the tanks, though, so she set about dragging them all back into the main cabin. Rey set them against the wall furthest from the bodies before looking back at the mangled and slowly rotting corpses. She wanted to get rid of them—drag them into the side room and shut the door.

She came back into the main cabin, dragging the last of the tanks along with one of the suits and the clear helmet. She'd rather not put on the suit and helmet as it might limit her ability to ration her air. Rey had already removed her coat but she shrugged back into it and placed her phone beside her on the ground as she sat down again, examining the suit design. It was warm in the cabin but if someone came in here, it was likely they wouldn't wait for her to put her coat back on and she'd rather not leave it behind just in case.

She spent the next few hours moving the hoses and attaching this and that together, trying to make the thing work. She couldn't read any of the text that popped up on the small computer attachment on the arm so she practiced hitting certain buttons and figuring out how it worked. She was eventually able to discard the use of the suit and helmet and simply take a breath from the nozzle. But she needed to be careful to only give it a quarter turn or it would be too much for her.

Rey sat back against the wall and took another bite of her chocolate bar. She practiced breathing the cabin air shallowly a few times before taking a breath of the oxygen from the tank. It was enough for now. She had a beast of a headache, but she was still alive.

She was certain that if she hadn't found those tanks, she would be dead already. She needed to make them last. It occurred to her hours later and well into the second day of her captivity that she couldn't really allow herself to fall asleep. If she did, she might not wake up again.

Rey hadn't turned her phone back on in a while and she'd sat there in the dark for so long. The darkness . . . she could feel it edging closer and eating away at her. Everything seemed to be closing in on her. She was so thirsty and she didn't dare move any more than she had to. Rey was an active person usually, jogging in the park in the mornings and walking to get everywhere, but movement burned calories-generated friction and sweat.

She also needed to pee again but Rey hesitated to waste the water. Perhaps her body would reabsorb it if she waited long enough? She eyed the corner that she'd dubbed the 'pee corner' and in the moist air of the ship, the liquid from the first time she'd urinated still clung to the grates of the floor. And wouldn't Black Mask _love_ that. She could just imagine the distaste on his face at the sight of a puddle of piss in the ship. 'Course, that was if he even gave a damn. It seemed he expected her to die in there so if her dead body didn't disgust him, probably nothing would.

"Jackass . . ." Rey muttered into the darkness.

It didn't help that into the third day, she was already feeling dizzy and weak. She hadn't slept and her phone had finally died so she slipped it into her purse. Rey had long since laid on the ground. Her face pressed into the grated floor, the sharp edges digging into her cheek but the pain barely registered. She was on the last tank so it wouldn't be much longer, anyway.

Her iPad was open in front of her, playing a few videos from her last birthday. Poe was carrying her around on his back while she wacked at a cheesy pinata blindfolded. Everyone was laughing and she smiled slightly.

"Poe, I'm sorry . . ."

She needed sleep. She wanted sleep so badly. She ached for it. She still had half a tank left but that would last her another half day, maybe. Rey closed her eyes, dehydration and oxygen deprivation was killing her now, and she would be dead in a few hours.

 _I'll go out on my own terms._

Rey turned the tablet off and she was again plunged into all-consuming darkness, but it had become so familiar to her. She turned the nozzle on the tank tubing and held it close to her nose. She would have some oxygen and she would go to sleep.

Rey mentally said her goodbyes to Poe, James, her life. Everything hurt too much and she just wanted to sleep.

So she did; her eyelids drooped down and she let go.

* * *

Oh NO! Rey's really not having a good day(or week).


	5. Chapter 5

Her eyes fluttered slightly as her aching head brought her back to reality. Well, the pain and the _light_. The darkness wasn't swallowing her up any longer.

"What . . . ?" she mumbled groggily, her fingers coming up to shield her eyes.

She was being _carried_. To where she had no idea. _Why am I alive?_ Rey blinked rapidly at the pristine white ceilings and then at the white and black helmet of the man that carried her. After so long in the darkness, her eyes _hurt_ and she kept them shut as the dizziness slowly receded. She took a few shallow breaths as she was getting her bearings and just when Rey was about to finally open her eyes again, she was dropped.

Hard.

Her head cracked against something and she groaned as she reached out, her hands hitting the walls of the small space. Rey finally blinked her eyes open and looked around. Blood began tinging her vision red and she reached up to feel the gash on the edge of her scalp. Her fingers came away covered in blood and she looked around frantically.

"What—what's going on?" she asked desperately, gazing up at the fathomless white helmet of the man who had dropped her. He didn't respond, so she looked around at the tiny space instead.

Rey was in some kind of tube, and it felt as though the walls were closing in on her. She heard a whoosh above her and she looked up again. The soldier wasn't looking at her any longer and she could see him pressing buttons in the wall outside the tube.

Her jaw trembled for a few seconds as she looked around trying to figure out how to get out. There was no way out! Just the _walls._ Her hands beat against the sides of the tube and she tried to reach up towards the ceiling, her whimpers and moans becoming louder as her fear grew.

And then the screaming started. And she couldn't stop.

 _It was supposed to be over!_ She'd let the mad bastard win! Why was he torturing her further? She reached up and clawed at the ceiling trying to get out as the she started hyperventilating. The wall were getting closer, she was sure of it. Rey watched as the soldier continued pressing buttons before he paused and looked down at her. Her eyes widened as he hit one last switch and for a fraction of a second it felt as though she were floating. And then he was gone.

No, _she_ was gone! The ship. It was above her and getting further and further away. Rey couldn't stop screaming and one second the ship was there and the next it was gone in the blink of an eye. They'd left her to die again! She beat on the walls, the ceiling— _anything._ Rey looked around, panicking and then it just got worse. The tube began trembling.

"What is happening?!" she screamed into the tiny space.

She looked up again, and the once clear and dark color of space was lightening and becoming blue. She was—she was entering the atmosphere of a planet.

 _Oh God! Please let it be home!_

Maybe that monster of a man had decided to just drop her back on her planet. _Oh thank God,_ she thought, but Rey wasn't given much chance to dwell on it as the tube began spinning and rocking back and forth as she plummeted towards the planet.

 _Was this normal?_ She squeezed her eyes shut as the turbulence got worse and she was thrown into the side. She felt something snap in her arm and Rey let out a low yelp of pain and held on as best as she could until the tube finally shuttered to a stop and it landed itself. If she'd had anything in her stomach, she'd have tossed her cookies right about then. As it was, Rey didn't think she had the energy quite yet to get up from the floor of the tiny space and her eyes slid closed as she leaned against the wall and wrapped her good arm around her knees.

"Fuck . . ." she said tremblingly.

 _Everything_ hurt. Rey wasn't one to generally wallow in self-pity or misery. She'd been through too much growing up in foster care, but this _experience_ really took the cake in terms of shit she was just gonna have to get over. Sunlight shone through the glass top but she couldn't see anything else. She was on a planet, hopefully back on Earth. Rey took a breath and tried to calm down. She'd get on with her life, maybe dip into her savings and take a small vacation—not to Paris—and just relax on a beach somewhere for a couple of weeks.

She _could_ and _would_ get past this, God _dammit._

Rey nodded to herself and hoisted her weak and broken frame up until she was standing. They must have done something while she'd been unconscious. No way would she have been able to stand much less walk in the state she'd been in before. Maybe they'd given her an IV or something.

"Whatever," she said dismissively, unable to feel even a shred of gratefulness for whatever they'd done to keep her breathing. She was alive and that's all that mattered. Rey felt around, pushing buttons at random until a section of the ship opened up to reveal where she'd landed.

Her jaw dropped open as she stepped out of the tube and onto the ground. She began shaking her head in furious disgust. "Oh, you've got to be _fucking_ kidding me."

It was a _desert_. She'd almost died of dehydration and he'd dumped her in a fucking _desert._ Rey wasn't a violent woman by nature but if Black Mask had been standing in front of her . . . "Beating him to death with a tire iron would be too kind," she murmured, her voice barely more than a croak from the lack of fluids and the screaming.

She pulled her heavy coat off and noticed she still had her bag but her scarf and ipad weren't with her. She grimaced but there was nothing to be done about it either. She'd buy new ones when she got back to the states. Rey looked around, hoping to see some kind of landmark or road. With how her luck had been running, he'd probably made sure she ended up in the ass end of nowhere and she'd be lucky to see another person before dying of heatstroke.

Rey shuddered at the thought but her eyes alighted when she spotted something in the distance. It was impossible to tell exactly what it was, except it was tall. It could have been buildings but it also could have just been a sand-colored hill. Either way, it was at least _something._

"Anything to get out of this heat."

So she walked, her arm hanging almost uselessly by her side and throbbing every time it moved as she hobbled closer and closer to whatever it was. Sweat began beading up and running down her face and neck as she drew nearer.

There was movement. _There were people!_

"Oh thank Christ," Rey breathed out as she got closer.

Except . . . she began to enter what was clearly some kind of desert town and her eyes widened. No . . . not people. _Aliens_. Beings of a variety of sizes, shapes and colors milled around what was clearly some kind of market street, conducting business as it it was the most normal thing in the world . . . universe. Rey staggered over to the side of one of the buildings and slid to the ground. This wasn't Earth. The bastard couldn't be bothered to return her to her planet and now she was somewhere else, thrown away like trash.

"Why is this happening?" she asked quietly as her knees came up and she rested her forehead on them, drawing herself inwards. Was this a dream? Had someone slipped something into her drink at the party and this was all some kind of hallucination? Because this _couldn't be happening!_

"Dorch'a?"

Her head snapped up and she met the large fathomless eyes of a small green-skinned alien. She scrambled back, her eyes squeezing shut. "Please don't hurt me!"

"Mona dorch'a? Che'in gresende Aurebesh'ne?" the voice asked again.

She shook her head rapidly. "I don't understand you! I don't understand any of it!"

"Jurten Triga gronen'e." A second, higher pitched voice had joined in.

Her jaw trembled as she opened her eyes. _Oh my God, now there were_ two _of them!_ The first was small, like a child with green skin while the other was blue and perhaps a bit larger than Rey. They both sported large dark eyes with short snouts and pointed ears. Oh, and _antennae._

They weren't threatening in any way but after the week she'd had, Rey had very little trust-even in herself. "I don't know what you're saying," she said with a shake of her head.

The bigger one turned to the smaller one. "Triga wendrin drinta'ah kidis."

The smaller one nodded and ran off somewhere while the larger one continued to speak to her. Rey's watery eyes took in the alien in front of her along with the the goings on around her. While there were a large volume of aliens present, there were humans mixed in and none of them looked in any way shocked or interested. So it wasn't just Black Mask . . . There were humans in other places in the universe . . .

"Where the hell am I?" she asked, talking more to herself than the blue alien.

"Ord Canfre," the alien said and it seemed to be in response to her question.

She looked at the alien sharply. "You can understand me?"

"Cha," it said crisply.

"Cha is . . . Yes?" Rey asked hesitantly.

"Cha," it replied with a nod of its head.

Rey nodded back and let out a sigh of relief. She tried to get back up, but the adrenaline of the crash had worn off and exhaustion and dehydration was setting in again. She collapsed back against the wall and the alien tried to help steady her.

Its fingers were long with bulbous protrusions at the ends but Rey ignored any differences in favor of focusing on the fact that the creature seemed to be trying to assist her. "Th-thanks."

"Una dow," the alien responded simply.

Now that she wasn't falling over in a panic attack, Rey was able to actually look at everything going on around her. The buildings were mostly the color of the sand, though some were more white. It looked as though stucco had been applied to whatever building material was used. Shops and businesses lined the streets along with mobile vendors that moved up and down the thoroughfare calling out things, presumably selling whatever they were carrying.

Rey turned back to the alien, its skin was a lovely shade of teal and its eyes were not just dark, they had flecks of white that made them look almost like the night sky.

"Wow," Rey couldn't resist saying, "Your eyes . . . they're beautiful."

The alien seemed taken aback and its cheeks flushed a dark turquoise as it said, "Ah Jowejin."

It sounded like a thank you so Rey responded with, "Una dow?"

The alien nodded multiple times. "Cha cha una dow."

"Jurtesh'ka'ah schor!" a familiar voice called from the side.

Rey looked up and spotted the smaller alien making his way back towards them. It was leading a squad of . . . She began trembling and her heart began to race.

"Mona Dorch'a?" the blue alien asked her in concern.

"It—it's them," Rey stuttered out as they came closer.

"Wendrin Dorch'a," it said, trying to be reassuring but Rey just shook her head and tried to back away.

"No! No!" she cried as she hit the wall again. The alien attempted to hold her arm and made calming noises but a half dozen white-clad soldiers were moving steadily towards her. Their gleaming armor and fathomless visors instilling the kind of petrifying fear that Rey had never felt even during her childhood with her abusive foster parents.

She pushed the alien away from her. "They're going to kill me!"

"Jum! Jum! Wendrin Dorch'a!"

By now she had fallen back onto the dusty ground and the soldiers had surrounded her. One of them began speaking to the blue skinned alien gesturing towards her. The others hadn't pointed their weapons at her but that didn't matter. _They worked for that monster._

"Please just leave me alone!" she begged as her eyes darted around frantically.

One of them, different from the others with an orange shoulder pad, crouched down in front of her. "Bor lindek gramaw dorch'a."

"Don't come any closer!" she cried.

Rey felt her world tilt as one of the others spoke and the soldier in front of her nodded. "Che'in rumin."

He reached over poked her arm with a small silver cylinder and she felt a jolt go through her body. "What—What did you d . . ."

Paralysis set in and she fell forward into the arms of the soldier. He handed his gun off to someone and picked her up. She was still very much awake but everything felt heavy and far away. The soldier lifted her into his arms, her head resting on his shoulder as he carried her down the road.

"Please . . . leave me . . . 'lone."

The soldier said something else to her but, she didn't understand and now she wasn't even able to really think. They continued walking for perhaps five minutes before their group entered a building. The air was cool and smelled like industrial cleaner and the doors whooshed shut behind them and everything inside was white. The ceiling, the walls and even the furniture all shared the same minimalistic colortones and aesthetic that the soldiers themselves bore.

The Earth girl was carried down a hall into a quiet room away from everyone else and the soldier gently placed her onto a bed. At least it felt like a bed. She didn't like that. She felt so vulnerable lying there while the soldiers spoke to one another and most of them left.

She was able to turn her head a bit and one of the soldiers dropped her purse and coat onto a bench by the door. A few minutes went by but the soldier that had carried her didn't leave and she tried to ignore him.

Yet another man in a mask making her feel weak.

Rey didn't dwell on it for long as a human man came in, holding a tablet of some kind. The man and the soldier spoke for a few minutes before the man nodded and walked over to stand over her.

"Che'in rumin," he said calmly.

If he was telling her not to worry, that ship had already long sailed. He smiled at her knitted brow and punched a few buttons on the wall beside the bed. An arm-like machine detached itself from the wall above her and began moving back and forth.

The man's lips pursed and he tapped a few more buttons on his tablet before speaking to the soldier again. The man in the armor looked at her one more time before leaving.

"Kojarin jilten draga'ah?"

Rey would have shrugged if she could have moved a muscle. They could understand her but she could not understand them and giving them that kind of advantage over her—she wouldn't allow it. Rey kept silent as the arm continued moving before eventually returning back to its original position.

The soldier and another man in a dark uniform appeared at the door. They all began speaking to one another. Or, more specifically, the man in black and the other man, a doctor perhaps, spoke and the soldier responded to questions posed to him.

The man in the uniform gave her a long look before nodding, almost begrudgingly, and leaving. Something was about to happen—she just knew it. Were they going to kill her, dump her somewhere else?

The man she assumed was a doctor left the room but returned in only a couple of minutes, a metal tube the size of an epi-pen in his hand. Her lip trembled as he came closer and she blinked rapidly as the tube was laid against the skin of her neck. Rey felt a prick and a jolt. She took in a harsh breath and it felt like fire was traveling through her veins. She began seizing against the paralysis, unable to vent her pain physically or verbally beyond a few moans.

"Che'in rumin. It's alright. It'll be over soon." Her eyes snapped up to the doctor. He . . .

The soldier spoke next. "She should be able to understand us?"

The doctor shrugged, pulling out another cylinder. "It can take a few minutes." He held that one to Rey's throat and she felt another jolt. But there was no pain this time and she began to feel a lassitude to her limbs.

She looked frantically between the two. "You . . . "

The soldier leaning in. "Can you understand us now?"

She blinked and looked between them. "You—You speak english?"

The doctor helped her to sit up and he began to check her over. Rey watched as he moved her arm and bit. "Where are you from?" he asked as he picked up a wide band and clipped it over her upper arm. "We are speaking standard. But the translation nanites are making it so you can understand us now."

"N—nanites. . .?" she asked hesitantly, watching as he hit a couple of buttons on the band.

"Yes," he said as though shooting tiny machines into a girl's neck was an everyday occurrence. _Shit, maybe it was_ , she thought with only the slightest amount of dread.

"I—what is going on?" Rey questioned.

"We were hoping you would tell us that."

* * *

I hope this chapter answered some of the questions you guys had. :)

I also wanted to add a **Thank You** to everyone who has left a review. I try to respond to every single one even if it's just to say 'Thanks!' but I know that I do miss a few every once in a while.


	6. Chapter 6

Rey was seated in what appeared to be an interrogation room. The walls, ceilings and floor were the same stark white, but there was a polished metal table in the middle with a few uncomfortable chairs around it. There were also what she surmised to be cameras at every corner, watching her. She'd been led in there over an hour ago and told to wait.

The armband that the doctor had put on her had been removed after only a half hour or so and, much to her confusion, her arm felt fine afterwards.

"It was just a fracture," the doctor had said. "The nanites were already knitting the bone back together. This was just to make sure everything was nice and straight. Make sure you get plenty of food and liquids. Your metabolism is going a little haywire at the moment." And then he'd sent her off. Thankfully the trooper with the orange shoulder pad had given her a bottle of water and a few packets of some kind of flavorless wafer. It was food—whatever it was—so she didn't care what it tasted like, and she'd eaten everything the soldier had brought to her. When the man in the black uniform and the doctor finally showed up again, she was munching on a her third bag.

"Ma,am, I am Commander Mordell Asettus. You've met Doctor Stavil Tem," he said as they sat across the table from her. The soldier—the _stormtrooper,_ as she'd been recently informed—was standing by the door.

The commander was looking over a record of some sort as he spoke. "We're at a bit of a loss as to your presence on Ord Canfre, Miss . . ."

"Gillespie, Reyna Gillespie," she said.

Asettus nodded. "Miss Gillespie. Let's start with where you came from."

"Earth," she answered quickly. If Black Mask had gotten there and he was working with these guys, it had to be in their computer systems, right?

The man looked at her curiously. "Dirt?"

"No," she said patiently. "We call our planet Earth."

He hummed to himself for a moment before replying "I've never heard of that planet before. Which system is it in?"

 _Shit . . ._ "Uh . . . the sun?" she replied, her stomach sinking further by the second. Her system didn't have an official intergalactic name because it had _never needed one._

Asettus's brow furrowed. "That's . . . let's try something else. How did you get here?"

She thought back over the last few hellish days of her life. "I . . . I was just throwing a party at my home—I just got a new loft. And suddenly this crazy masked guy in black showed up and he threatened to destroy my planet if I didn't go with him. He—he was saying all kinds of psychotic shit and I maced him and then . . . " She thought back and remembered the words he'd spoken. They were imprinted in her mind like a red hot brand. "Grishn'ah chopntegrin staejen dega'ah," she said and the men looked surprised. Her brow furrowed as she resaid the words in her own language. ". . . Foul creature could never be the one—That's what he said! I—I wasn't what he was looking for but instead of taking me back to my world, I was dumped here."

The doctor finally spoke, his voice thoughtful. "Well, whoever it was, they wished you to survive."

The days of torture as she slowly wasted away were far too fresh in her mind. "How do you figure that?" she asked dubiously.

Tem gestured to the empty water bottle and packets in front of her. "You were, and still are, terribly malnourished and dehydrated, enough that you should have been dead. However you received the broad spectrum injection which has already begun repairing the damage to your cells. They're why your arm is no longer fractured."

Her eyes narrowed. "Injection? I only got the one you gave me."

He tilted his head and pursed his lips as he looked over his tablet. "I only gave you the translation nanites and that was only because we already detected the spectrum nanites in your system. It was given to you within the last few hours, it looks like."

She didn't remember anything like that. "I—I passed out. It must have been while I was unconscious but before I was . . . jettisoned."

"Yes, about that." The officer began with a tinge of impatience as he tapped a few times on his tablet. "I've just received word that we recovered your pod, an emergency ejection tube marked as belonging to the Imperial Dreadnaught-class ship, _Defender_ , the jewel of the Imperial fleet and the flagship of the Supreme Ruler."

That sounded way too complicated for her exhausted mind to fully register. "Look, I don't know anything about a dreadnaught, any fleet or a ruler—"

"The _Supreme Ruler_ ," the officer corrected quickly.

She paused and gave him a hard look. "Whatever," she deadpanned before shrugging. "I was kidnapped by some douchebag in a mask who thought it was great fun to a slowly kill me via thirst and suffocation before dropping me here on this planet."

She'd already realized that some of her words apparently weren't translating which was probably for the best because the man didn't seem offended by her word-use. "A man in a mask?" he pressed, "Could you be a little more specific?"

Rey's eyebrow shot up. "You've got that many people running around on your _jewel of the Imperial fleet_ who wear _masks,_ that I need to be _specific?"_ she asked incredulously.

The man tightened his jaw. "If you would please?" Asettus prompted not in the least put off by her question.

Rey sighed and all but deflated. "I don't know," she said tiredly, "He wore all black but not like a uniform, like layers of robes or something and he had a black mask with a metal design on it."

The two men looked at one another, suspicion so clear on their faces that even Rey's shocked mind could detect it. Tem looked at her closely as he asked, "And you say this man kidnapped you?"

"Yes," she said nodding, "He came down onto my planet and threatened to burn my world to nothing if I didn't come with him. He assaulted me and I sprayed him in the face with pepper spray and then he went crazy and started swinging his crazy red sword around."

The officer stared at her for a minute before he hesitantly tapped on his tablet a few times. He paused and sighed before turning it around and showing her a picture. "Is this the man who . . . kidnapped you?"

Her eyes widened at the almost portrait-like image of the man in his full dark regalia. She pointed at the tablet. "Yes! Yes, that's him!"

Asettus didn't seem terribly impressed. "Do you not know who he is?" he asked carefully.

She shook her head emphatically. "No. He never said his name. Hell, he never even asked for mine."

Tem was looking at her curiously. "His name is Kylo Ren. He is the Supreme Ruler of the Corellian Empire and Master of the Knights of Ren."

Her jaw dropped. That sounded like a problem . . . for her. "I don't know what any of that means."

The commander's hand dropped to the table with a loud thud that caused Rey to jump. "It means he is the sole authority over the most of this galaxy."

She tried to imagine the idea of such a person. Rey licked her suddenly dry lips before replying, "Well he didn't tell me any of that. He just started mauling me and sticking his face in my neck— _without_ my permission."

The commander tilted his head and he raised a brow. "His face? You saw his _face?"_ he asked with a touch of disbelief.

She looked towards the ceiling. _God grant me the serenity._ "For fuck's sake— _Yes!_ Dark hair, dark eyes, big beak."

Asettus's eyes widened and he blinked several times and didn't seem to know what to say to that.

The door chimed and another stormtrooper appeared. "Sir, a moment?"

The commander stood up and stepped out into the hallway to speak to the 'trooper. The door remained open and they made no effort to hush their words.

"Sir, I just spoke to a tech stationed on the Defender. Apparently the Supreme Ruler did in fact retrieve a girl from a planet in the uncharted zone. She attacked him and he had her thrown off the ship onto the first habitable planet they came across. We aren't allowed to assist her."

Asettus's gaze slid back to her. "Is he coming back for her?" he asked, but they all know the answer.

"The tech said he was livid and cursing her up and down the ship. The only reason he didn't order her death immediately is because a medic confirmed that whatever she'd used wasn't meant to inflict permanent damage." Which meant 'no'.

Rey's eyes met the doctor's. He'd heard the exchange as well and she could see some sympathy on his face. Black Mask— _Kylo Ren_ wasn't coming back for her. She was stuck here and now not even these guys would help her.

Asettus came back and sat down. "Well, I suppose you were telling the truth and you seem to have found yourself in a bit of a mess."

Her eyes narrowed. "The truth? Of course I was telling you truth. What did you think this was?"

Asettus gave her a look that was so familiar to her at this point. It was the look on the lady cop's face as the crazies tried to volunteer to leave with Black Mask. It was the look that Fallinger had given to the women as they waited in the embassy. "Did you think I was lying? Having you on by saying I was kidnapped by your precious _Supreme Ruler?"_

The commander didn't even look embarrassed to have been called out. "You wouldn't have been the first," he said flatly.

He jaw trembled in barely suppressed fury. "So this is a thing he does? Kidnapping women and dumping them off when he's done being amused?"

Asettus met her gaze. "Of course not. You are . . . unique—though apparently not unique enough for him to keep you around."

Rey felt her nostrils flare. "I didn't ask for him to bring his ships and soldiers and _threats_ to my planet. I did not ask for him to come to _my home_ and scoop me up like _dog_ at a shop. I didn't ask him to molest me and I sure a shit didn't ask to be thrown away like trash onto your crap planet. You're right. I'm not unique. I was one of seven billion people and for some reason, he picked me to torture for _days."_

"You attacked him—" the commander began, but she cut him off.

Her hand came down hard onto the table, startling the two men. "I defended myself. Or is that not a thing out here in your _great_ empire?"

Asettus' lips tightened in irritation. "Of course it is, but we can't substantiate anything you've said here today."

Rey pointed at Tem. "Except you've got a pod from his ship, a doctor telling you I should be dead and a _Supreme Ruler_ who went to my planet and _kidnapped_ me," she said angrily.

The commander shrugged, unconcerned. "And perhaps you would have a case you could bring forth to a magistrate—if you were a citizen. _But you're not._ The only crime here that could be prosecuted is _your attack_ on one of _our_ citizens."

Her fists clenched. "I don't care about prosecuting anyone or whatever is done in your sad excuse for a justice system. I just want to go home. That soldier said it was in the uncharted zone. Where is that?"

The officer raised an unsympathetic brow. "Ord Canfre borders the uncharted zone, but without coordinates, you could spend years traveling through there looking for your planet. And that's if you could even get a ship."

Her eyes closed. "Then what am I supposed to do now?" she asked tiredly.

"That," he said softly, "We can't help you with. I'll give you a few minutes to get yourself together and then you'll need to leave."

Rey watched the commander and the doctor leave the room in stunned silence. The bubbling anger she'd felt drained out of her and miserable exhaustion took over as she slumped. Her eyes slipped closed and rested her head in her hands as sobs threatened to come pouring out. She was going to die on this planet.

The stormtrooper who had stood by the door came over to her. "I'm sorry that this happened to you," he said, his voice muffled by a modulator but not as severely as . . . Kylo Ren's had been.

She looked up into the dark visor of the soldier. "As if any of you give a damn about me."

The helmet tilted a bit before. "It's not the end for you. Ord Canfre is no Corellia or Naboo but it's not so bad."

Rey sighed and stood up, holding her coat and slinging her bag over her neck and onto her shoulder. She didn't give a shit about 'Corellia' or 'Naboo'. "Do you know a way off this planet?" she asked, knowing the answer.

She couldn't see his expression but he shook his head. "Without an ID chip, no reputable transport will take you off planet. And I would caution you about the ones that don't require that. You could easily just disappear."

Rey nodded and looked around the room. " I . . . I—I don't have any money or any place to go."

He stepped closer. "Listen, go down the main street outside the station. There is a bar with a blue sign called Drink Night that is looking for a waitress. You're pretty and seem smart enough. Even without ID, you can get a job there."

Rey bit her lip but nodded. "Is there somewhere I can go to stay?" she asked hesitantly.

The trooper shook his head. "Without credits, not really. But . . . "

"But?"

He pointed to her mother's ring. "That might be worth something. There is a pawn shop next to the bar. You can maybe sell it and get a room at the bar until you have enough to get a small place."

Rey refused to let her jaw tremble. She'd gone to school for seven years and then clawed her way up the corporate ladder at her company to make executive director of design. She had her own team of graphic artists and marketing directors that reported directly to her on multi-million dollar ad campaigns.

And now she was going to have to sell her mother's ring to pay for a room and stay off the street.

* * *

Kylo had watched as the tube had been ejected from the ship before they'd jumped back into hyperspace. _Good riddance,_ he thought. He'd intended to let her stew in the darkness of his ship until they reached Corellia, at which time he would turn her over to the conscription magistrates with a smile on his face and a request for maximum sentencing. But as he'd felt her life slipping away, he'd realized his error. She was not an imperial citizen and thus had never received one of the most important the rights of citizenship.

He'd ordered that she be injected with the spectrum nanites, and then he'd been so disgusted with his weakness that he'd had her ejected from his ship. It wasn't lawful conscription, but either way, she would learn what it meant to assault and _anger_ the Supreme Ruler. Ord Canfre was an unforgiving world at the edge of the empire, and with no translation nodes or ID, she would not last long. He still flinched in remembered pain from that fire spray she'd used.

In the end, he was glad she'd done it. Kylo was able to rectify his mistake before they'd gotten any further. He'd need to return to that backwater planet at some point to look again for the light exemplar, but the rebels had been kicking up a storm and he needed to be on the front lines. He'd been away from the empire for too long already, mapping out the path to Earth.

His door chimed. "Enter," he called.

A lower ranked officer that Kylo couldn't be bothered to remember the name of entered and gave a short bow. "Sir, your ship has been thoroughly cleaned and repaired."

"Good." He expected nothing less.

The man hesitated. "We did . . . recover some things."

She'd probably left her primitive rubbish all over his ship. "What?"

"These." The man held out a small rectangular object, covered in painted flowers and a piece of decorative cloth he'd seen swathed around her neck. Kylo didn't reach out and take them.

"Get rid of them," he said instead.

The man nodded. "Sir."

The officer went to leave and he was already passing through the doorway when Kylo called. "Wait."

The man turned back. "Sir?"

Kylo didn't know what possessed him to say, "Leave them on the desk."

The man hesitated and then set the objects down onto the polished surface.

"Leave," Kylo almost growled out.

The man hastily left Kylo alone again. He eyed the items, unsure why he kept them. A nothing piece of tech from a nothing world belonging to an ungrateful little bitch. The cloth meant nothing but his fingers glided over the brightly colored object before picking it up. He should throw it away.

Kylo looked at it and realized that the colorful part was only a cover and he flipped it out of the way revealing a dark screen that instantly brightened up to show the girl and—his eyes narrowed—a man. They were smiling and the man had his arm around her.

The sight made him almost irrationally angry. Was this man waiting for her back on that planet? Was she married to him? The picture faded away and the screen went dark. His brow furrowed and looked at the object. _Where did the image go?_

He closed it and opened it again and picture popped back up. He ran a finger over the image of the girl. She might not be the right girl but her face was the same and that was enough for now. That was, at least, until he went back and found the real one.

* * *

Sorry this took a bit longer to get up. I had a major test in one of my classes and I needed to study.

PS If you read this immediately after it was uploaded, I have made a couple of changes and added about 500 extra words to the document.


	7. Chapter 7

Rey grimaced as she stepped out of the Imperial remote office. The sun was blinding and the heat was stifling as dust and sand moved through the breeze. People of all shapes, sizes and colors milled about the road, speaking to one another and going about their business.

The commander had allowed the stormtrooper to talk to her for a little while longer, so she'd found at least a few things out. She was currently in the small outpost of De'Pruren, which was the only place on Ord Canfre that could be considered a 'city'. Even so, it only housed a few thousand people. It was predominantly a transient city with a large landing port and their primary export was textiles, of all things.

But even with a name, in reality she still had no idea where exactly she was. Neither the name of the planet nor the city meant anything to her, and thanks to the shitlord, she couldn't even get any kind of ID to use to get off this rock.

"If I ever see that masked psycho again, it won't just be mace he gets a faceful of," she muttered in irritation as she walked down the semi crowded street.

Even with her foul mood, Rey could not help marveling over the sheer variety of species in the tiny outpost. It was mostly human—and she had mentally decided not to touch _alien diversity_ yet—but at least a third of the people there were other 'sentients', as the commander had called them.

They all spoke and shouted to one another in a flurry of sound and movement. Rey did her best not to stare as each new face came into view, bringing with it an inspiration of color and texture. Five minutes into her walk and she was already sweating under the scorching hot sun of the desert landscape. She also stuck out like a sore thumb in her dark clothes and boots. The only people she'd seen who wore black were the officers, and it was obvious that nothing she wore was imperial issue.

The bar that the stormtrooper had mentioned, the Drink Night, was just up ahead, and she scanned each building as she passed by. The gold and white stuccoed structures were interspersed with other space-age architecture; some reached as high as five or six stories, but most stopped around three. It looked as though there were businesses of all types on the first levels of many of the the buildings with living situations above. She saw several humans and nonhumans— _sentients_ —relaxing on small balconies of the second and third stories.

Her mouth watered as she scented the delicious odors of cooking food. Food stands littered the road, though most of their food wasn't readily identifiable. Despite the packets of wafers she'd had, she was still incredibly hungry and thirsty. It had been almost six days since Rey had really eaten anything, and she was pretty sure she didn't care what was being served, so long as it was moderately edible and unlikely to kill her.

The Earth girl still marveled that she was even standing, much less walking down the street after what she'd been through. Rey hadn't noticed it until the doctor mentioned the spectrum nanites, but the cut on her head had already scarred over and her arm was completely healed. How all this was possible, she had no idea-and quite frankly she wasn't as interested in the particulars as she was with how they might help her get back home.

Rey's stomach gave a half-hearted rumble as she passed another stand, but food would have to wait. She needed a job, money, and a roof over her head first. The stormtrooper had said the bar was looking for a waitress. She hadn't waited tables in years, not since her sophomore year in college when she and Poe had been living together.

That had been years ago, but it wasn't a skill you forgot. It might be years before she saw her home, family and friends again. But she'd get there . . . there were no other options.

 _The bar should be around here,_ she thought, stopping to take another look around and behind her. The buildings all blended together for the most part, only broken up now and then by random spots of new architecture.

The stormtrooper had said it was a blue sign . . . _Ah! There!_ She spotted a small outcropping with a few tables under some make-shift umbrellas made of slatted wood. She stood there looking at the sign curiously. She'd seen it before but hadn't been able to read the script. It now clearly read, "To Drink Night".

 _The translation nanites must also work for writing,_ she thought, _though not perfectly._ It was becoming pretty apparent that some things just weren't directly translatable to english and, in this case, the closest it could get was 'To Drink Night' or just Drink Night.

"Are you alright, now?"

Rey turned to the side and her eyes met those of the alien who'd tried to help her earlier. "Oh! Yes—Yes, I think I'm okay now. Thank you for before." Looking at the alien now without the haze of panic clouding her mind, it was clear that it was a _she,_ at least by human standards.

The sentient nodded. "I'm glad they gave you the translation nodes. Navigating anywhere without them can be a bit difficult," she said softly.

"Yes, I'm Rey, by the way," she said sticking her hand out for a shake.

The alien tilted her head curiously at the hand. "I'm Breeka," she said but didn't take Rey's hand so the Earth girl dropped it uncomfortably.

"I'm sorry about earlier. I—I was not having a good day," she understated.

"I thought as much," the blue alien confided before looking back towards where Rey had been gazing before. "Are you looking for a job?"

"Yes. I—I think I'm going to be here for a while," Rey said with a self deprecating chuckle.

Breeka's head tilted before she replied. "That bar is owned by Maelin. He's a good sort and won't give you any trouble. But if it doesn't work out, you can probably also find work at the textile factories near the landing port."

Rey nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."

Breeka smiled. "Voorin, my son is waiting for me. Good ending!" she said before lightly touching Rey's shoulder and walking away.

"Good ending . . . right," Rey murmured to herself. She walked as swiftly as she could and allowed herself a small relieved smile to see the sign in the window.

'Waiter/Waitress Position Available'

She opened the door and received a blast of cool air, and she breathed a deep sigh in relief to finally be out of the sun and heat. Her eyes scanned the tiny place, taking in the people and placement of the furniture. There was a high bar top that ran along the wall on her right with shelves of various bottles and boxes behind it. Metal stools lined the bar and behind them along the left side was a series of tiny tables. The place was dark and decorated by a few moving holographic pictures along with memorabilia of some kind for some place called Ryloth. There were a handful of humans and a few other sentients that looked up as she entered. She caught a few of them eyeing her long jean-clad legs before her raised brow scared them off.

Behind the counter stood another sentient. He was tall and green with two fleshy appendages that protruded from the head and hung down his back. He wore a white loose shirt, cuffed up at the elbows and open at his throat with dark suspenders. With the exception of the green skin and the—whatever they were on his head, he really just looked so . . . normal. Their eyes met and he motioned her over, no doubt already guessing her purpose there. She came forward and leaned against the counter.

He didn't say anything, just continued wiping out a tall frosted glass. She stood there for a few seconds before almost blurting out, "Hi, my name is Rey and I heard you're looking for a waitress."

The man blinked a few times before tilting his head. "You heard right."

He didn't say anything else so she pasted a smile on her face. "I'd like to apply for the job."

The sentient was silent again for a long moment before finally speaking. "You're the girl who was screaming in the street earlier."

Rey eyes widened. _Of fucking course._ "Oh! Um . . . would you believe me if I told you, I just had a really bad week?"

He eyed her curiously. "You also didn't have translator nodes, but you do now?"

 _Christ, how fast did news travel in this place?_ "Yep! All fixed. I'm from . . . a system in the uncharted zone. This is my first time off planet."

The man raised a hairless brow. "And you picked Ord Canfre?"

The words tumbled out before Rey could stop them. "I assure you, this planet was _not_ my first choice."

He stared at her a moment and she was worried that she'd somehow offended the man but he just threw his head back and laughed, the long tubes of flesh rippling and waving from the movement.

"Long way from home, huh?" he asked setting the glass down.

"You have no idea," she said with a tired smile.

The green man shrugged. "Well, my home planet isn't exactly in this neck of the woods either so you have my sympathy. I'm called Maelin and if it helps, I am a twi'lek and my planet is called Ryloth."

She nodded eyeing his appendages. "I've never seen a non-human sentient before coming here."

He didn't seem bothered by her perusal. "Well, we get plenty of merchants and bounty hunters passing though, so you'll get your fill of sentients in no time." He eyed her a second. "Do you have any experience with this kind of job?"

Rey nodded quickly. "Well, I worked as a bartender and waitress back on Earth. Mixing and pouring drinks and serving. Is it much different here?"

The twi'lek tilted his head a few times and the appendages swayed to and fro. "No, that sounds about right. You'll need to make sure to keep up with the cleaning of the bar between customers and knowing how to deal with the late night crowd. My last waitress ran off with a merc, claimed she'd finally found true love with some mandalorian."

Rey had no idea what a mandalorian was but she was honest with her possible boss. "Well, I don't plan to run off with a man, but eventually I'm going to try to get back to my planet."

He looked her over, his eyes searching. "You got a ship?"

"No," she said with a shake of her head.

"Money?"

Rey only looked at him and that was answer enough.

"Might take you a while," he said quietly.

Rey grimaced. "I figured. I don't have an imperial ID so I can't easily leave here."

The twi'lek nodded. "Well, you're hired then."

"I was told you also rent rooms?" she asked.

Maelin nodded. "That I do. It's 13 credits per night but I'll take 4 credits off that if you start working in the morning. But I'm not doing a pay advance on the room."

She hadn't really expected that he would. "I'm going to the pawn shop next door. Hopefully, I'll get enough to pay for the room," she said hesitantly. She really had no idea what things were worth or if her mother's ring had any value out here.

Maelin nodded again and she pushed away from the bar and walked back out into the sun and heat. She'd need to get something else to wear besides her dark clothes. Her blue coat was next to useless now, it seemed as well. The pawn shop was small but it was clean and organized. Gadgets and items that she could not even fathom their function lined the shelves and were displayed in cases. A few of those holograms floated about depicting other items as well. A hunchbacked little man sat behind a counter, polishing coins.

He looked up at her through large round magnifying glasses. "What can I do for you, little lady?" he asked, his voice soft.

"I'm in a bit of a bind," she said while taking her necklace off, "so I'd like to sell something."

The little man put the coins back down onto a mat and put it below the counter and out of sight so he could give her his full attention. "What would you like to sell?"

Her fingers curled tightly around the ring before she sighed and placed it in front of him. "I only have this," she said despondently.

The shop owner picked the ring and examined it. "The blue stone is good quality and 2.3 hedate of diamond and . . . this metal," he murmured, eyeing the ring critically.

She nodded. "It's called platinum. Its rare on my world."

"Platinum," he said testing the word out. _Perhaps platinum wasn't a well known metal out here,_ she thought with a grimace. "Just a minute," he added as he pulled out a tablet— _datapad_ and an instrument of some kind. He placed the tip of the instrument on the band and the pad beeped.

The shop owner's eyes widened. "Churkopt. What you call platinum. Very rare." Greed had begun suffusing his features, as did suspicion. "Where did you get this?"

As if he wasn't going to buy it off of her anyway. His poker face wasn't _that_ good. "Well I didn't steal it. It was my mother's engagement ring."

"Engagement?" he asked and she could tell it was another word that wasn't translating.

Rey shrugged. "Like when you propose marriage? The husband gives the wife a ring to show his commitment." At his blank look, she added, "Maybe that's just my world then."

He pursed his lips before examining the ring again. "I'll give you two hundred thirty credits for this ring," he said offhandedly.

She blinked. The room was 9 credits a night so that would definitely get her started. At this point she didn't have much choice and her mother had always been a practical woman. Rey knew that if she were still alive she'd tell Rey to take the money and buy food. Her stomach rumbled and reminded her of her circumstances.

Still . . . "Two fifty," she said.

The broker looked up at her and scrutinized her face and then the ring again for a few seconds before nodding. "Two fifty and you give me the coat."

Rey looked down at the bright blue garment. "You want a winter coat? Wouldn't think that would be popular around here."

The little man shrugged. "I buy and sell things off world too. I won't turn a hefty profit but I can get a few credits from that."

She thought it over but it was an easy decision. "Deal," she said, folding the coat up and putting it on the counter as well.

The broker seemed pleased. "You got a cred chip?"

She shook her head. "I don't have anything."

He didn't seem surprised. "Physical credits then."

She nodded watched the alien pull a stack of thin foil notes from his drawer and he counted out a few different ones and thankfully the translator allowed her to see that they added up to two hundred and fifty credits.

He pushed them towards her. "You're new around here, yes?"

"Pretty obvious, right?" she said with a derisive snort.

The broker raised a brow. "No cred chip means no imperial bank account, which means no ID chip, am I right?"

Her head spun just thinking about it. "Yep."

The broker shrugged, unconcerned. "I get that sort in occasionally and so I keep safe boxes for my more . . . transient clientele. You get yourself a job and you want to keep your money safe, then there's a box here with your name on it."

She nodded thoughtfully and thanked him.

"Enjoyed doing business with you and if you need anything else, you come see old Waldreg," he said in response.

Rey waved as she stuffed the notes into her pocket and walked back outside. The first order of business was food and water. She let her nose guide her to a mobile food stand where a human man was frying something up that smelled vaguely like mexican food.

"How ya doing', missy?" he asked, turning the kabab like items over as they fried in a pan. There was a sign that listed out different things and their prices but she had no idea what any of them were.

"Hungry. Really hungry. How much are those?" she asked, gesturing to the food.

The vendor blinked at her before shrugging. "These twispas are a quarter credit each."

"I'll take four," she said before pointing over to a sign that listed off a few drinks. "Are those cold?"

"'Course."

"One of those too." There were little pictures of exotic fruits beside the bottles, none of which she could identify so she chose at random. "The pink one."

"Comin' right up."

She dug two credits out of her pocket and handed them over. He gave her back a half credit and she thanked him for the food and drink. It really did smell divine. Thick cuts of meat interspersed with a random vegetable and slathered in a spicy sauce. She sat down at one of the tables outside the bar. Maelin nodded to her from inside so she pulled the make-shift sun shade up and began to eat.

 _Heaven, thy name is twispa_ , she thought nearly groaning out loud as she consumed the spicy food. The meat reminded her of turkey but perhaps a bit gamier. It had been soaked in some kind of seasoning before cooking and the sauce wasn't quite hot sauce, it had a sweeter flavor. The drink, after she figured out how to open the thing, was fizzy like a soda but it wasn't carbonated. It was some other gas that gave the beverage a distinct flavor. Not bad, just different than what she was used to.

A shadow stopped next to her and she looked up, mid-bite into her third twispa. It was a stormtrooper. _The_ stormtrooper. Rey recognized the orange shoulder guard from before. She put the twispa down hastily and smiled. "Hey!"

He pulled his helmet off and she wasn't sure what she'd been expecting, but it wasn't _him_. Unlike all the other humans that she'd seen so far in the remote office and on the street, his skin was dark. He was covered in a sheen of sweat from the heat of the planet, but he was exceedingly handsome. He was completely her type and if she'd spotted him at a club or coffeeshop back on earth, she'd have definitely given him her number. Rey wondered for perhaps the fiftieth time, how it was possible to have all these humans out here. The stormtrooper was watching her and his expression was slowly morphing into one of confusion and Rey realized she was just staring at a him with a dumb look on her face.

"Can I sit?" he asked after the silence stretched out.

"Oh! I—I'm so sorry! Yes! Please sit down," she said, gesturing to the wooden chair in front of her.

He set the white helmet down on the table and took in her little spread. "Well it looks like you found the bar and the pawn shop."

Rey nodded. "I got the job and a room for the night. I start tomorrow. Thank you for telling me about it," she added before taking another swig of her drink. "I'm Rey, by the way."

"I know. I'm FN-2187," he said with a nod.

"FN . . . 2187? That's your name?" she asked with a confused tilt of her head.

"My designation from the orphanage. No one ever gave me another name so I just use that," he said with a shrug.

Rey blinked several time and tried not to dwell too long on how dehumanizing that was. "Gave you . . . ? Why don't you pick a new name for yourself?"

He looked pretty uncomfortable and she was about to apologize and rescind the question when he answered quietly. "It's not official rules or anything but it's just understood that someone like me only gets a name from someone else—someone who knows and respects you enough to choose something as important as a name. And you keep the name to show your respect for that person."

Sounded like a weird sort of marriage thing to her but she didn't voice that opinion. "2187 it is then," she said with a smile.

He seemed happy enough to move on with the conversation. "I looked a bit more into your situation after you left and talked to a couple of 'troopers aboard the _Defender_ about what happened."

Well that sounded promising. "Did you find out why he took me?"

The stormtrooper hesitated to meet her eyes. "It looks like there was a bit of a mix-up," he said slowly.

Her brows shot up and a slightly hysterical smile crossed her lips. "Mix-up?" she asked calmly.

2187 looked almost guilty. "Yes. the Supreme Ruler is looking for the light exemplar."

None of that meant anything to Rey. "What the _hell_ is an exemplar?"

2187 blinked at her, apparently confused by her question. "You know . . . the living embodiment of the light-side of the Force?"

"The what now?" she asked, carefully keeping her tone even while internally screaming.

"You don't know about that Force?" He seemed genuinely baffled at her lack of what he clearly believed to be common knowledge. 2187 gaped at her for a few more seconds before he added, "Wow, you really are from an undiscovered planet."

At her unamused look he quickly raised his hands in mock surrender. "Not that there's anything wrong with that. I mean I don't know the specifics or anything but the Force is this like energy the flows through the galaxy and links all things together. Some people are imbued with ability to use it in the physical sense. It's very rare and is sometimes genetic. But Force-users are able to do things like read minds and move things with just a wave of their hand."

Her eyes slid shut. " _Fuck_ . . . I could have told him I don't have any goddamn _super powers_ if he'd asked."

Finn shrugged. "I guess he figured that out."

Rey closed her eyes and felt her face twitch in fury. "You have got to be _fucking_ kidding me." That shitlord had uprooted her life, dragged her halfway across the galaxy and then when he realized he'd made a mistake, he'd just dumped her on the closest planet.

"Yeah, sorry about that," 2187 said and he seemed sincere in his sympathy to her but Rey was still marveling at all the ways she'd just gotten shafted.

"Sorry doesn't get me back to my planet. And I can't get off this rock. I'm gonna die on this dustball planet poor and alone." After everything she'd done to end up _not_ poor and alone, she was back at square one.

The stormtrooper made a noise of sympathy. "No one at the remote office would dare assist you right now. Too much potential heat from the empire to take the risk. Maybe after a couple of years, I can see about filing for transient citizenship, but if he were to come back for whatever reason and find out what I did, I'd be killed."

 _Holy shit._ "Killed?" she asked.

2187 shrugged. "Well I can't be conscripted, so I would be sentenced to labor on a mining planet, which . . . is basically a sentence of execution."

He said it all so offhandedly, as if discussing the weather, that Rey was unsure if he was messing with her or if he really was serious. She immediately lifted her hand up and shook her head. "I wouldn't ask you to do that," she said with a sigh, "It's fine. So I'm destitute on a planet filled with aliens because some asshole supreme decided that he needed to get his kicks at my expense. That's okay. I can deal with that. I've been at the bottom before and clawed my way back up. This isn't much different."

It was, of course. She knew it was. The situation she had somehow found herself in was complete and utter _bullshit_ but there was nothing else for it.

"I gotta get back to the office. I'll see you later?" he asked hesitantly.

She smiled. "I'll be here for the foreseeable future so if you want to stop by, I wouldn't mind the company."

His face split with a wide grin before he put his helmet back on and she waved him away.

* * *

 _The damn thing had stopped working!_ Kylo shook the pad and tried hitting the small round button as well as opening and closing it, but the image would not activate anymore.

 _Must the woman thwart me even from halfway across the galaxy?_ he thought angrily.

Why wasn't it working?

"Mitaka!" Kylo called through the comm system.

Seconds later the junior officer shuffled in looking as though he wished he were anywhere but in the presence of the Supreme Ruler.

"Yes, sir?"

"Find out what's wrong with this blasted machine! It no longer turns on!"

Mitaka looked confused as he took the flowery bit of tech and examined it. "It's fairly primitive—"

"Yes, thank you for that bit of insight, but your opinion is not needed. Get it fixed."

"Sir!"

Mitaka spun around and scurried out in a rather undignified manner but Kylo couldn't be bothered to care. Perhaps he'd broken it when he'd accidentally activated the rather antiquated password protection on the device. He'd not dared to try and subvert the safeguard lest everything be lost. Most personal devices only allowed a certain number of incorrect guesses before wiping everything.

He cared little for whatever other drivel the girl had on the machine, but he refused to lose the picture—at least until he found the right girl and he could look upon her in the flesh. The Resistance was a continual thorn in his side, inciting rebellion on the planets bordering the uncharted zone. They would creep from the shadows long enough to arm cells of insurgency and then step back to watch the chaos as Corellian Empire dealt with the uprisings, minor though they were.

He wasn't needed on the front lines, but having the Supreme Ruler in the sector in person would sooth the governments of the worlds who fought to tamp down the uprisings. It would also cause the Resistance to think twice before revealing themselves.

After he found the true light exemplar, a small vacation was in order. Perhaps he'd show her around Corellia. His new summer palace would be completed in the next few months. It was inspired by the image in his mind that he'd received the first time he'd connected with her through the Force.

Lush gardens and open airy architecture to allow the occupants and guests to experience as much of nature as possible. All to allow her to feel that freedom she'd felt when he'd first experienced her existence. She would love it and he would be the one to give it to her.

* * *

Sorry for the late post! I normally upload before my 8pm class but I still wanted to tweak a few more things. A few more questions have been answered, though. ;P


	8. Chapter 8

Several days later, Rey stepped out of Drink Night tired, but feeling good. She'd just finished her ten-hour shift at the bar. It was a long shift and it was three days a week, but it wasn't a hard job. It had taken her some time to figure out the calendar used by the Corellian Empire. The hours, seconds and days were similar to Earth, but there were five days to a week and seven weeks to a month.

She'd taken to wandering around during her days off, figuring out where she wanted to live and where she could go to buy things like food and clothing. The Earth girl had shed her dark clothing and leather boots in favor of sandals that laced around her calves and light weight sand-colored dresses. 2187 showed her around when he could—generally when the two were both not working, they were together.

Maelin was nice enough to let her sit and read his son's old datapads between customers so she could learn about other sentients, as well as the Corellian Empire and its history. Apparently, in order for a planet to be annexed, certain standards in education were expected to be adhered to so it was information she should know if she eventually wished to gain any kind of legal citizenship.

Imperial history read more like a space soap opera than anything else. Rey thought a lot of it sounded pretty far fetched. Then again, she'd spent the night before working in a bar on an alien planet pouring drinks for creature that had tentacles sprouting out of its mouth and cleaning up the mess left behind after Maelin had to correct the assumption of a devaronian who hadn't realized that she wasn't for sale.

Rey wasn't sure how she felt about citizenship. It's what both 2187 and Maelin told her should be her goal, but being a member of an empire ruled by the man who had tortured her seemed . . . well it went against everything she was. Dictatorships were never in anyone's best interest except the people at the top, but apparently very few people had a problem with it out here.

Except for the Resistance. Rey had seen the holovids in the bar—seen what was left of major cities on planets a galaxy away after Resistance insurgents infested them. Rey might have been a marketing exec from a primitive and undiscovered planet but even she could see that whoever was running their PR really needed to be fired. No one would support the sheer _mess_ these people were making in the name of freedom.

But not supporting the Resistance was not the same as condoning an autocracy, and neither was becoming a citizen for the purposes of escape—at least she hoped not. Rey hadn't fully made a decision about it, but if it would get her home, it would just be one more thing she'd have to grit her teeth through. She needed identification papers in order to do almost anything legally within the empire. Illegal transactions always cost more and credits were something she had to keep an eye on. Prices on food fluctuated wildly in De'Pruren, especially for things that needed to be imported.

A quarter portion of the powdered bread that people around here seemed to favor could be a half credit one day and two the next. She still hadn't stopped being amazed at how it sizzled and puffed up, even if it tasted like cardboard that had been soaked in dish water. She didn't have a stove or any way to cook anything in her little room over the bar—one of the many reasons she couldn't stay there forever.

Today was the day she was going to look for a more permanent residence. It was late, but 2187 had assured her that there would be plenty of landlords milling about even at that hour. Rey had the next day off, but as it was the day of rest so did everyone else. Nothing was open while the inhabitants of De'Pruren spent time with their families. She would be hard pressed to find anyone to speak to about renting a room tomorrow so tonight it was.

She'd been on Ord Canfre for seven days and she still hadn't let herself fall apart. There was too much to do, too many other things to worry about. The walls between her rented room and the bar were thin and Rey was not about to sob her eyes out where her boss and the regulars would hear her. She kept everything inside and smiled everyday at the strange and wonderful creatures she met and kept herself busy even when she wasn't working. Hopefully, she'd find a place to rent tonight and then she could move the few things she'd purchased into her new home.

And _then_ she'd have her nervous breakdown.

Rey waited outside the bar for a few minutes before she spotted 2187 jogging up. He wasn't wearing his armor, and was instead in just the black cloth under armour. He must have been sweating in that thing, but she was aware that stormtroopers weren't really allowed to own things that weren't given to them by the empire. And apparently, it didn't matter where you were stationed—everyone got the same clothes.

"Hey, Rey," he said as he approached. "Have you been waiting long?" he asked.

She returned his smile with one of her own. "No, I just got done," she answered, fingering her floral purse, the only thing she still sported regularly from her life on Earth.

The stormtrooper pulled a small datapad from his trouser pocket. "I made a short list while on break this afternoon of a few places we can try looking for a room for you."

She blinked. "Oh."

2187 looked instantly like a deer in the headlights. "I mean, if you want to look at other places that's fine, I just thought . . ."

Rey smiled. "To be honest, I had no idea where to begin. Breeka suggested a building in the Floo district."

2187 looked down at his list. "The first one on the list is in Floo, so we're on the right track. I thought you'd like to be close to the bar and the market. Being in the center of town is also safer. People look out for one another when they're so close together. Like everyone knows each other."

"And each other's business," she said, her tone amused.

2187 snorted. "Something like that. Also, I thought . . ." He trailed off and went silent.

"What?" she prompted.

"These buildings are about halfway between the bar and the headquarters—so if you ever need anything—" He flushed slightly.

She smiled. "You're just a stone's throw away."

"I just want you to know that even though the Supreme Ruler made you . . ." 2187 trailed off, unsure.

"Persona non grata?" she finished for him. When his brow furrowed, she elaborated. "Outsider, pariah."

He seemed chagrined and his expression was serious as he took her hand. "It won't always be like that. We just need to give it some time."

Rey shrugged. "Well, I've got nothing but time, so why don't you escort me to these fancy digs you've chosen?"

2187 held up his arm and she wrapped her own around it. They walked through the lively crowd down the street in the direction of the remote office. She could see it in the distance, the imperial emblem glowing through the colorful lights of the shops and street stands. Rey thought it looked more like the eye of Sauron, but perhaps she was a bit biased.

She slowed her pace as they neared her favorite food stand. No twispas today, which _sucked,_ but there were crispics which ran a close second on her scale of amazing. Puff pastry stuffed with meat and vegetable in a cream sauce: they were delicious, and so far they were the thing that reminded her most of home. She attributed that to how simple they were, with few ingredients. Rey was practically living off this particular food stand, which probably wasn't terribly healthy. But she hadn't been brave enough to try much else yet unless 2187 or Maelin specifically recommended the food.

"Let's get something to eat," she said, eyeing the stand.

2187 looked over towards the food. "Sure," he answered and the pair walked over to the vendor.

"Rey! Wasn't sure I was gonna see you today." The man, Torjin Samaya, said with a smile as he pulled a batch of crispics from the fryer.

2187 was shooting a look that said he was laughing at her. "You know me better than that," she responded with a knowing smile.

Torjin laughed. "Usual for you and for your friend?"

She nodded and he dished out the standard number of three onto the thin wax paper-like tray. He added another tray for 2187 and Rey gave him the credits.

"Thanks Torjin. See you tomorrow."

"No problem, Rey. Twispas tomorrow, I promise."

Her smile was gold and she and 2187 left the stand to stroll towards their destination.

"Making friends, already, Rey?" 2187 asked as he bit into the piping hot crispic, his shoulders slumping as the creamy mix of vegetables and meat wrapped in fried puff pastry hit his tongue.

She chewed on her own as they walked. "I can't cook in that room I'm renting so I eat at that stand at least once a day."

2187's brow furrowed. "Well, hopefully we'll find you a place where you can cook and not eat street food for the rest of your natural existence."

"Hey, don't knock it. I could live off these," she said as she finished her first crispic.

The stormtrooper looked somewhere between amused and grossed out but didn't say anything and they finished eating in silence. Eventually they came to stand in front of a four story stucco building. It had been white washed at one point, but much of that had worn away. She looked over at 2187, who nodded that this was the place. Hopefully the inside didn't look like the outside.

"This is the only building in Floo with a room for rent. It's on the third floor and is the most expensive on the list but it's also the safest location and the biggest," 2187 said as he read out the details from his datapad.

If both Breeka and 2187 had this place at the top of their recommendations, it was definitely worth a look. So Rey nodded and they walked inside. The walls were stucco as well but had been smoothed down and were painted a sort of watered down salmon. She thought perhaps they'd been another color at one point, but it had long faded.

2187 knocked on the door directly beside the building entrance. She heard a low pitched buzzing noise and a few curses before the door swung open to reveal a small blue alien with furiously flapping wings and an elongated protruding snout.

"What'a you want?" it— _he_ —demanded.

"You got a place for rent?" 2187 asked while Rey stood there staring at the grizzled sentient.

The little blue alien eyed them for a second before shrugging and pulling a key off the wall from inside. He tossed it towards 2187 who caught it. "Third floor, second door on the right. Eighty-five credits a month including water and if you wants power hookup it's another fifteen. You go up and look. You like, keep the key and drop fifty credits for the rest of the month plus next month in the box. If not, drop the key."

At Rey's shocked nod, the door slammed shut. She looked up at '87 who shrugged. "That's a toydarian for you."

Apparently rental agreements weren't a thing around here. The pair walked up to the third floor and the higher they got, the worse the place looked. Rey was almost dreading what was to come by the time they reached the third floor.

The second door on the right opened with the key, though she was dubious about the lock's actual ability to keep anything or anyone out of the place. 2187 stepped in first and she followed behind.

 _All things considered, it could have been way worse,_ she thought. It was small—smaller than just her bedroom had been in her loft back on Earth. It was maybe two hundred square feet but it had very high ceilings so it didn't seem so bad. The walls were stained with water damage and the stucco had cracked and come off in places, but it had a bathroom with a toilet and a 'fresher. In the main area, there was a counter that ran the length of one wall with a sink and a small portable cooktop sitting beside it.

"This is the biggest one?" she asked awkwardly.

2187 nodded and she sighed. Was it only two weeks ago that she'd been celebrating the completion of renovations on her one point five million dollar loft? Rey mentally cursed the shitlord again in her mind. The others might be cheaper but she would also bet that they would not only be smaller but probably in worse shape. The stormtrooper had also said the areas weren't as safe or centrally located as this one.

She fought the bile that threatened to rise in her throat. "Well, I guess this will work for now. A hundred credits a month . . ." It was more than she wanted to spend. She made half a credit an hour plus tips and if the last seven days could be used to project how much she would make, it was around 150 credits for a month's work. So more than half of her money would go to rent. Her base pay would cover that but then she'd be reliant on tips for food and other essentials.

Her mouth twisted. "I need to find a second job. One with a more reliable income."

2187 looked up at her. "You want _another_ job?" he asked incredulously.

Rey shrugged. "This apartment costs my entire base salary at the bar. If we have a lean month at some point and customers aren't around, I won't have enough credits to buy food." And ideally, she wanted to begin saving money to eventually buy her own ship to get off this rock.

The stormtrooper grimaced and thought for a second. "I may have an idea about that."

She looked up at him. "You do?"

"You have rest day off from the bar. Most places are closed on that day, but there are a few places that pay good money to have people work because the vast majority of people on this planet won't."

The day of rest didn't mean anything to her culturally, so she could work with that. Breeka seemed to know everyone, so she'd ask the rodian about it tomorrow.

* * *

It had been several days since Mitaka had taken the device to fix it. Now he stood before the Supreme Ruler with it, along with a cable that looked to have been fashioned by hand. It was a mix of parts— _converters,_ he thought.

"Sir, the machine was not broken. It ran out of power."

Kylo's eyes narrowed. "Ran out of—it uses a _battery?"_

Mitaka nodded cautiously. "It's a primitive device. It runs on a rechargeable battery that needs to be plugged into a power source occasionally. We have developed a power cable that will plug into the ship's power mainframe via a junction unit."

Mitaka inserted one side of the cable into a unit on the wall and hooked the tiny metal fitting into an outlet on the device. It made a slight ringing noise, which he supposed was a good thing.

"If it runs out of power, plug it in and leave it for around an hour. That seems to work."

"Good work."

Mitaka's jaw dropped open and Kylo grimaced beneath his mask at the shocked expression. "Now get out."

"Yes, sir!"

The officer ran out of the room and Kylo picked up the tablet. He opened the cover and the image materialized before him. Kylo's gloved finger moved over the image and he suddenly felt the urge to remove his helmet.

It was an unfamiliar feeling. He hardly ever removed it, even in the privacy of his office. He'd been unable to help himself when he'd found the girl, so consumed with the idea of his exemplar being so close. Kylo hadn't wanted anything to separate them. He'd been so sure it was her that he'd ignored the feelings of discomfort from her. That should have been the first sign.

Exemplars were perfect compliments of one another and she should have been just as enamored with him. But she hadn't been. She'd been afraid of him. Even knowing she wasn't the one and that he'd never see her again . . . it still weighed on him.

* * *

Sorry for the late update! Editing took a bit longer this week. I know not a lot happened here, but all this needed to be established so we can move on to the more important stuff. :)


	9. Chapter 9

While Rey was grateful to finally have a place to call her own, there were times that she _hated_ her apartment. It wasn't the fault of the space itself, but at night when she desperately wished to sleep, all she could see were the walls of the ship— _his_ ship—closing in on her. The evac tube spinning, and her head feeling scrambled as if she'd just been run through a blender. Rey would lay awake in her make-shift bed of layered blankets and imagine the sickly sweet scent of the slowly decomposing bodies that had lain only feet from where she'd been left.

She'd decided after the third sleepless night that something needed to change. Rey wasn't sure what kind of changes she could make to the apartment, and the Earth girl had been hesitant to ask her toydarian landlord about anything. But after she'd finally worked up the nerve, the flapping little being had shrugged and told her he didn't care what she did so long as she didn't poke holes in the walls.

Well, she didn't want to make any holes. She wanted to _paint_.

Rey hadn't done any serious painting since college. She'd worked with mixed media for various classes and projects as she completed her art history and marketing degrees, but her entire focus had been on completing her masters and then her job for the last few years. She'd always intended to take up the hobby again, but student loans and then her strenuous saving had eaten into whatever excess money she had each month.

Rey had eventually gotten her promotion to creative director, paid off all her debts and had finally been able to save up to put a down payment on her dream home—all in the space of six months. Everything had been coming together for her.

Then _he'd_ arrived.

The Earth girl looked down at the bucket of pale thick liquid. _All that work and pinching my pennies for years and_ this _is what I have to show for it,_ Rey thought with a grimace. She was going to be on this planet for a while—years, or possibly decades would go by before she'd be able to leave. A few credits spent to try and deal with her . . . issues would be a drop in the bucket in the long run. Rey had a few ideas for things she wanted to paint. Adding color to the drab water-stained walls would be a welcome change—everywhere except the space beside the door. She was already using that, penciling in little hash marks for every day she was there.

So far there were thirty nine marks.

Thirty nine days on an alien planet. One would think it would be some miraculous adventure, but that was far from her life on Ord Canfre. The days bled into one another, broken up by the occasional get-together with FN-2187 or Breeka. The rodian had been instrumental in getting her a second job as a dryer at one of the textile factories near the landing port. It was only one day a week, but it paid a credit and a half an hour so she made just over sixty credits a month from that job. The place was hot and there was a chemical scent that clung to everything, even Rey, when she left. Maelin had complained that she'd stunk even the day after so Rey made sure to scrub herself pink when she got home.

But it was a job and it paid enough to finally justify getting a deposit box at Waldreg's shop. When Rey had gotten her first salary payment, she'd clutched the money to her chest and all but dragged Breeka down the street as fast as possible to the pawn broker.

"What's the rush, Rey? Got a date? Seeing that _stormtrooper?"_ Breeka had asked slyly as she trailed behind the Earth girl.

Rey had frozen nearly mid stride and Breeka almost crashed into her. "What? No!" she'd said, even while her face had flushed a bit. 2187 was really good looking, but clearly uninterested in her romantically. Hell, he didn't seem interested in _anyone_ romantically.

"Then where are you off to in such a hurry?" the rodian had asked with a tilt of her head.

Rey smiled brightly. "I actually have enough here to _save,_ Breeka. It's my first tangible step towards getting a ship."

Breeka had gotten a look on her blue face that said she knew it would be a long time before Rey was able to really purchase a ship, but she'd smiled and hugged Rey anyway.

"I'm proud of you," she'd said and Rey was grateful to the other woman for her help and kindness. She was always ready with a supportive word no matter what outlandish ideas Rey threw at her.

Working with the fabrics at the factory and seeing how they were made gave Rey all kinds of ideas for different patterns. Most of the fabrics were neutral tones reminiscent of the sand and the desert, but there were a few bolts that were occasionally produced for custom orders that had Rey salivating. She hadn't been able to help herself from sketching a few ideas for fabric patterns.

Breeka might have liked them, but Mila, the factory owner, wasn't quite so open to making any kind of design changes or additions to her fabric lines. She was Breeka's first cousin, but the two were so far apart in temperament that if not for the similar shade of blue to their skin, Rey would never have pegged them as related. She was a no-nonsense woman and had apparently been doing things a certain way for a _long_ time. Rey hadn't brought up her ideas again after being shot down the first time.

"How long you been on this planet?" Mila'd asked with a raised hairless brow.

"Twenty one days," Rey had answered, and she'd known where the conversation was headed at that point. It seemed like a lot of people were aware that Rey wasn't an imperial citizen. There had been a bit of gossip in the beginning about where she'd come from, her lack of translation nodes and her emotional scene in the street after she'd wandered into town from the desert. She was obviously not from Ord Canfre and not from within the Empire.

Breeka had asked her about her origins and in the end, Rey had elected to keep her encounter with the Supreme Ruler quiet. It wasn't that she didn't trust Breeka in particular, but after the way that commander had sneered at her, as though she were some star-struck fan panting after a masked psycho . . . well, it was better forgotten.

But even without the addition of Kylo Ren to the story, it was fairly obvious that Rey didn't know much about what went out outside the tiny outpost town. Mila obviously knew that and as a result didn't take anything the earth girl said seriously. Rey didn't know anything about what people within the _empire_ wanted. She didn't know the trends—hell she didn't even know the materials very well. They weren't exactly spinning cottons or silks in this alien factory. Mila, thankfully hadn't felt the need to elaborate or drive her point any further. Either that or she decided her time was better spent looking over the other workers, and she'd walked off without another word.

But that didn't stop Rey from thinking—from mentally creating her own perfect pallet and space. There was little else to engage her intellectually when all she did was serve drinks and move heaps of wet fabrics onto drying racks every day.

It had taken some saving, but she had finally put aside enough credits to at least attempt to paint what she was thinking about. While work at the factory was hard, there were other perks to working there. It hadn't been a priority for her when looking for a job, but employees at the factory were allowed to buy fabric and dyes from the factory for a heavily discounted price.

It was common for the workers to buy cloth to sew their own clothing for themselves and their families—Mila even let them use the sewing machines in their off hours—but pigments were another story altogether. Her boss had looked at her like she was touched in the head for wasting her money, but Rey wouldn't be dissuaded. She _needed_ something else to consume her mind besides the daily grind of survival on this dustball planet.

It wasn't all terrible _—I've lived through worse and all in all,_ Rey thought as she eyed the sketch lines on the walls, _it isn't a hard life._ She'd seen the prostitutes in other bars and dives around the landing port cruising for customers. If 2187 hadn't been the one—if he hadn't pitied her that day . . . it could have been a lot worse for her. Rey shuttered at the thought of what could have happened to her—what Kylo Ren had probably _hoped_ had happened to her.

But today wasn't for self-recrimination. Rey had bought her first batch of paint. Well, it wasn't paint in the classical 'Earth' sense—they didn't have that around here. Clay sculpture was a popular . . . ish in De'Pruren, but not much else. The lack of any kind of discernible 'arts district' or 'scene' was odd, but the city _was_ on the smaller side. Rey had settled on the whitewash that was used all over De'Pruren to paint the buildings. It was cheap so long as she bought it still in powder form, only a few credits for a massive bag. 2187 was working today so she'd had to carry it herself back to the apartment. She'd eventually need several bags to paint the entire place but one was fine for now.

Rey grimaced as she contemplated how long it would take her to paint this tiny room. _Not long enough,_ she thought sourly. She'd spoken to a few people around the landing port about what it would take to get a ship. _Credits,_ she was told, _lots of them._ There were a hundred trillion sentients in the galaxy and everyone wanted a ship. But the materials to make hyperdrives were rare and exceedingly expensive. Just the hyperdrive alone was tens of thousands of credits to power a vessel the size of a winnebago. After spending eighty to ninety credits a month on living expenses besides rent, she was only able to save ten to twenty credits a month so . . . she would be here a while.

After she'd had a good cry over _that_ thought a few weeks ago, she decided to make the best of it and work with what she had. And what she had was a tiny apartment that was the most depressing thing she'd ever lived in, whitewash, and clothing dye. Rey wasn't entirely certain this would work, but she had nothing but time to figure it out.

She took the tubes of powder dye from the counter and began dumping equal parts of red, blue and yellow to get brown. She poured some of it into another container and added a bit more water to thin the mixture out. She wanted to do the trees and other basic outlines first.

Her smaller paintbrush was primitive and not at all like what she was used to on Earth, but she hadn't been able to find anything around De'Pruren besides the large brushes used for construction work. She'd ended up taking one of those apart and had glued and tied the bristles to a smaller wooden dowel rod to make a finer paintbrush. It wasn't perfect, but it was the best that she had.

She thought back to the colors from her memory as she painted. Her earliest memory that didn't involve pain had been when she'd gotten lost in the forest behind her foster home. The man who'd been tasked with her care had been drunk and when he'd gotten drunk, he'd get mean. Rey had taken a few snacks and had run into the woods. She'd been four or five years old and she'd walked and walked, deeper into the overgrowth.

Looking back, she should have been terrified but all she'd felt was freedom and peace. The ground had been covered in pale purple flowers and the canopy above her thick and green. Sunlight had streamed through breaks in the leaves bathing her in streaks of gold. It was her happiest memory and she would do her best to recreate that on the walls of this dilapidated little hovel.

She painted for hours, layering shades of brown over one another to give the tree the right texture. Rey smiled as she ran her finger over a dry patch, imagining her fingers over on the rough surface. And then . . . she felt it _—the bark,_ her nails catching on the edged of the crackled material.

 _What_. . . ?

Rey whirled around but she was no longer in her apartment. She was in the woods _— not her woods,_ she thought as she eyed a particular blue funnel-like flower. It was far too alien . . . she was somewhere else! Rey tried to speak but nothing came out. It was as if she had no control over her body. Her eyes strayed down to her hands but even they weren't hers! They were _blue_ and had the shape and size of a male rather than her own slim and delicate fingers.

 _What was happening?!_

"There you are!"

She turned and felt her face pull into a frown. "Had I wished for you to find me, I'd have made it easier for you." The man who had found her—he was not human. He skin was patterned in different flesh-toned shades like a human but his head—it was free of hair, but there were _horns_ that crowned his bare skull.

The sentient growled. "It doesn't matter where you run, you can't hide from me. I'll _always_ find you," the other man said and Rey sneered at him.

"I won't be made a fool of by you. Go on! Obey your family and marry that woman. I wish nothing further from you!" she said viciously, _but it wasn't her._ This was someone else's memory.

The man was shaking his head. "They didn't know, Kalen! They didn't know who you are, or what _we are_ to each other. I have spoken to my clan leader and they are deeply apologetic for putting you in that position."

She twisted her lips and shook her head in disgust. "It doesn't matter anymore. I'm going home. This entire debacle was a mistake—"

The bald alien pushed Kalen into the tree and plastered their bodies together and Rey felt their want—their _longing_ as if it were her own.

"Don't say that," he whispered into Kalen's ear, "Don't ever say such a thing to me. I would not be long for this galaxy if I lost you."

"De'sond, what are we even doing?" Kalen asked with a tired sigh.

Rey felt the other man wrap his fingers around Kalen's jaw and they drew close together. "We are exemplar. That is all we must ever be," De'sond whispered as he leaned in and kissed the other man.

Rey drew in a sharp gasp and her paint brush fell from her numb fingers to the floor. She staggered back, blinking rapidly.

"What the _fuck?"_ she breathed as she tried to process what had happened. Rey put a hand over her chest. Her heart was racing and she tried to catch her breath. There was a knock at the door and her brow furrowed as she automatically called out, "Who is it?"

"It's me!" the familiar voice of 2187 answered.

"What?" she asked the empty room almost dazed, her gaze swinging towards the window.

 _It was night!_ How long had she been standing there in that—that dream? "C—Coming!"

She hastily picked up the paintbrush and noticed with some dismay that the paint in her smaller container had dried a bit but she should be able to reconstitute it later. She put a cover over the paint still in the bucket and wiped her sweaty palms on her pants before going and answering the door.

She plastered a smile on her face as she opened her door and 2187 stood there carrying a few things to make dinner. His smile dropped and his eyes narrowed as he looked her over. "What's wrong?" he asked.

She shook her head quickly, almost manic. "Nothing. Everything's fine."

2187 looked behind her into the empty room and she let him in. His eyes darted around the space, looking for the source of her discomfort before they found her half done painting of the tree.

"You're not telling me something," he said, turning back to her, his eyes slightly narrowed.

She took a steadying breath. "I—I just woke up. I had a weird dream, and I'm still a little flustered," she explained, hoping he would drop it.

'87 eyed her for another second before nodding slowly and placing the bag on the counter beside the sink. "You would tell me if you're in trouble, right?"

She nodded and smiled. "I promise, everything is fine. Thank you for worrying but I'm okay."

"What was the dream about?" he asked as he began opening the bags.

The face of the horned alien flashed through her mind and her jaw tightened before she replied, "You know, I don't remember anymore."

2187 still looked dubious but he nodded anyway as he took out the cartons of pasta and meat. He spoke about his day but she was having a hard time focusing on him. Her head hurt and she felt as though something was picking at her, trying to catch her attention. A shadow that lingered in the back of her consciousness. She didn't like the way it made her feel, didn't like the thought that it might have something to do with . . . the Force. So she shut it away. Locked it up and buried it so deep that it could not touch her.

The man in her dream, he'd called them exemplar. She remembered that word. 2187 had mentioned it to her before. Kylo Ren was looking for the light exemplar and he'd thought it was her. She hadn't really given the man and his mistake much more thought beyond the usual mental threats if she ever saw him again after a particularly trying day.

The word must have stuck around in her brain for her to have such a strange dream and for it to reference the person that the Supreme Ruler was looking for. She thought about asking '87 about the exemplar but in the end . . . she didn't really want to know.

Rey knew enough already; that Kylo Ren had mistaken her for someone else and she'd pissed him off by spraying mace at him. Her punishment was to potentially spend the rest of her life here on this world so close to the uncharted zone but so far from her planet that she had no idea where to even start looking. On top of the time it would take her to acquire a ship, she would potentially spend years or even decades looking in the uncharted zone for Earth.

She'd searched every database she could for any kind of mention of her homeworld or her people but there was nothing. Kylo Ren had apparently decided not to allow the coordinates and route to her world to be added to the galactic star mapping system. _Just one more way he had stuck it to her,_ she thought.

"Where are you?"

Rey looked up at 2187. "Huh?"

The stormtrooper slid the pasta and meat around the skillet as it cooked over her portable burner but he wasn't looking at her. "You keep going somewhere."

"I'm sorry, I just have a lot on my mind," she said as she looked at the partially completed tree on her wall. "Just feeling a little homesick today."

2187 nodded again. "You know you can always talk to me, right Rey?"

"Yeah," she sighed. "It's been a long day but I wasn't quite as productive as I wanted to be."

The man stared knowingly at the dark blob on her wall. "I did think you'd be a bit farther along."

Rey shrugged. "Can't always be in the mood to be creative, I guess."

2187 slid the food into two small plates, and Rey filled a couple of glasses with water and they sat down on the floor at her low table to eat. Dinner smelled divine, but Rey had almost come to expect that. She'd been barely able to microwave ramen before she'd been forced into her impromptu vacation, and not much had changed, but '87 loved to cook. She let him do it as often as he liked, and she picked up the tab for the ingredients most of time.

"You never talk about Earth," he said quietly.

Rey sighed. "What's there to say? The likelihood of my seeing my home again is practically nil. A ship that can get me through the uncharted zone is a minimum of twenty thousand credits. I can only afford to save maybe twenty credits a month which means it will take me a hundred years to save enough money to even begin looking for my home planet. I'll be long dead before then."

'87 looked at her strangely. "No you won't."

She returned the look with a raised brow of her own. "Of course I will. Humans only live like eighty or ninety years," she said leaving the 'duh' out of the statement.

The stormtrooper tilted his head. "You have the spectrum nodes. You'll live a lot longer than that."

That didn't make any sense. "I thought the spectrum nodes just kept me from getting sick."

2187 blinked several times. "They do more than that. They keep you healthy and in doing so, they extend the lives of imperial citizens."

"By how much?" she asked. If she could get another fifty years, she might make it back before she croaked. Poe would probably be long dead by then but maybe she could visit his kids or something else equally morbid.

"Many people live to over a thousand years, but the norm is around eight to nine hundred," he said matter-of-factly.

The fork in her hand slipped out of her fingers and clattered onto the plate. "Ni—nine hundred _years?_ " she managed to stutter out.

"Yes," he said simply

"That's—That's not possible," she said, shaking her head in denial.

2187 shrugged and took another bite. "Of course it is. I'm over seventy, myself."

"What?!"

* * *

Kylo jolted awake inside his quarters. He'd felt . . . _something._ A ripple in the Force that demanded his attention. The light exemplar . . . she had begun her awakening. His breath came in shuddering pants and sweat ran down his face as a new level of awareness seemed to blossom within his mind. He still could not fully connect with her, but he could _feel_ her.

The light . . . he—he could feel it again. He reveled in its call and basked in the warmth of its promise to him. The promise of his soul being complete once more in ways he had not felt since he was a child. The torn gaping hole in his mind—the void inside him that had begun forming when Jerah . . .

Kylo swallowed around the influx of emotions that threatened to overwhelm him, things he hadn't felt in _centuries._ He reached out and grasped as tightly as he could to the thread of light that would one day lead him back to his exemplar.

The darkside . . . its long cold fingers which had clawed so deeply into his being—he felt the grip ease ever so slightly. Kylo could feel the balance within himself and he looked over at his mask that stared back impassively from bedside table.

He hadn't needed the mask for some time . . . not since Earth.

When he appeared before her again, he would do so without anything between them. No masks to hide his shame. No threats to force her hand. He would be good to her. Kylo reached over towards the tablet that sat beside his mask. The glow of the machine instantly illuminated the entire room, casting a pale blue light over everything as he looked at her. The girl—he realized then that he didn't even know her name—smiled at him, her happy expression making his lips curve up just in the corners. She wasn't the exemplar, but looking at her and knowing that soon he'd have the right girl . . . A girl who looked at him like that.

A half formed thought—he could go back to the planet he dropped that _wench_ off on, take her back to her planet—but no. . . Even if she wasn't the exemplar, she'd still attacked the Supreme Ruler and a few months on a shithole of a planet was better than she'd have gotten had he thrown her into the imperial justice system. No, even with his newfound benevolence, he had no reason to forgive her.

His lips twisted. He'd send someone to go get her and return her to Earth _—after_ he'd gotten the light exemplar. No need to allow the woman to sow discontent amongst her people before he even had a chance to find and perhaps properly court the exemplar.

"Wait for me," he whispered, gazing at the image as it faded and darkness once more enshrouded the room.

* * *

So sorry for the late update. In my defense I had a major calc exam Thursday night so I spent all day studying for it and then when I finally got home, I checked the edits and I really needed to further flesh some stuff out in this chapter. I added an extra 1000 words to this chapter this evening but it hasn't been re-read yet by the betas, so I apologize for any typos.

But anyway, Rey is full on hallucinating. I'm sure you can all guess how well _that's_ gonna go over with her. And people live a long time within the empire. A person might look twenty or thirty years old, but in reality(or in this one anyway), they're _much_ older. Hope you guys enjoyed the update!


	10. Chapter 10

In the weeks that followed her _first_ hallucination, and then 2187's revelation about what the spectrum nanite _really_ did, Rey walked through her new life in a bit of a daze. The idea that by the time she made it back to Earth, that everyone she knew would be long dead was something Rey was having trouble getting past. Was it even worth it to try to return home? Between the time it would take her to save up to buy the ship and supplies she'd need for a long journey and then actually _finding_ Earth, everyone she knew would gone and her planet wouldn't really be her home anymore. Home was where Poe was and without him . . . what was the point?

Rey had always been the type of person to keep her chin up and take care of business. Even when she'd been at her lowest, testifying at a hearing with bruises on her face and seeking emancipation and _escape,_ she'd never felt as she did now. Long life and youth might have been the holy grail of technology on Earth but she'd trade it all to be back in Manhattan with its smelly alleys and rude cab drivers . . . To have her brother back.

Rey kept a strong facade but she'd sunk into a sort of depressive state that lasted weeks when she'd realized what her future might become. She'd spent days absently painting her walls, her mind elsewhere. Her sulking was broken up occasionally by visions like the first one. Men and women fighting, talking, _being._ She was always in the body of one of them, but occasionally she caught sight of her reflections in a mirror or window. Seeing herself as a young man with blue skin and red eyes the first time had been . . . different.

She did her best to ignore them and thankfully, they seemed to only happen when her mind was relaxed. During her work hours, when she was actively engaged with her jobs, they weren't able to creep up on her. But at night when she painted or tried to sleep, they would hit her and she would be left with this feeling of emptiness—this blinding void where there was no color or texture or shadow, just endless _white._

 _Probably a side effect of PTSD or something,_ she'd decided.

2187 kept her company when he could but Rey could tell he was worried about her. If she wasn't working at the bar or the factory, she was home, brushing on layer after layer of pigmented whitewash, highlighting and shadowing the trees and flowers. He silently watched her and it seemed as though he'd never seen a painting before. There were holo projectors which she found fascinating but the color was always washed out on those. Almost as if they'd been invented a thousand years ago but after getting it to work, neither the inventor or anyone afterwards had never made any other advancements on it and just left it as is.

While her walls had occupied her for a time that had ended on the day of her seventy second hash-mark. By that point, she'd found that she _needed_ the outlet in order to keep some semblance of calm. Painting and expressing herself artistically was what she now seemed to require in order to keep herself spending too much time thinking . . . worrying . . . crying.

Rey had been forced to move on to something else. She'd worked on several other projects to satisfy her craving for some form of creativity and to the alleviate the endless boredom that came with living on a planet so far out in the boonies of a galactic empire. A few pieces of clothing sewn from some of the fabric remnants that she got for free from the factory or making short videos about her life on her phone like she was vloging for youtube. She spoke in them like she was talking to Poe. Maybe one day he would see them . . . or maybe not.

There was also the slowly enlarging pile of canvases in the corner of her tiny room. Well, they weren't canvases in the traditional sense. She had to make her own by stretching coarse cloth over a frame made from broken shipping crates from the garbage pile next to the landing port. Necessity was the mother of invention, as they say and 2187 had been nice enough to stretch the cloth while she hammered tacks in.

She'd started with paintings of Poe and 2187 before her art had expanded to include other things, Breeka and Maelin as well as the wisp-like images from her visions. 2187 had been nice enough to point out the species names for some of the people she depicted. Rey had felt guilty lying to him when he'd asked where she'd seen these sentients. How could she tell him that she was having nightmares and waking dreams of people who she'd never seen before?

As it was, 2187 let her have her secrets and she was grateful that he never pushed her. She was meeting him after her shift at the bar and then they were going to go watch one of the traveling plays that had recently come to the De'Pruren. It wasn't one of the big ones but her friend had assured her that it she'd enjoy it. What Rey thought she'd really enjoy was her blu-ray player, her seventy inch TV, and the box set of Friends.

She was just finishing up her shift and talking to Maelin, when 2187 came in . . . followed by three other men. The stormtrooper looked apologetic and she raised a brow when the group ambled up to the counter. She recognized them, of course, from her conversations with '87. These were his squad-mates. FN-2199, or 'Nines' had pale skin and bright red hair, his mouth had creases at the corners that showed he scowled a lot. FN-2000, 'Zeroes' had dark skin and hair with a scar running from his forehead across the bridge of his nose to his cheek. The last, FN-2003— _Slip,_ her mind supplied—had short light brown hair and tanned skin as if he spent all his off hours in the sun. He wore a kind smile, though he looked slightly uncomfortable.

Zeroes had his arm around 2187's neck, almost in a chokehold as he eyed Rey. "Wow! '87, you've been holding out on us!"

"I have not! You were all there when she came in!" 2187 said in exasperation.

Nines scoffed. "She was talking crazy and looked like—" his words died at the hard look Rey was shooting him.

"Yeah, you go without food, water, and air for five days and let's see how you look," she said, unimpressed.

He held his hands up. "I didn't mean to offend."

"It's fine," she said, dismissively.

Zeroes piped up. "Anyway, we just came to escort this fine young gentleman to his date."

"It's not a date," '87 muttered.

Zeroes released '87 and leaned over counter as he looked up at her through long dark lashes, "If you aren't dating him, I'm available and I've been told I'm great fun." His voice dropped. "In all areas."

Rey couldn't help it, she laughed, and a smile spread over Zeroes' face. "'87, you didn't tell me how funny your friends are," she said with an amused smile.

2187 was elbowing Zeroes out of the way. "That's because they aren't." He turned back to face his squad-mates. "Alright, you got your look. You've talked to her, now go back to the barracks."

"Ah, you're no fun, '87," Nines said with a scofft.

The 'trooper wasn't impressed. "I'm plenty fun, but we've got to go in a bit and she doesn't need to be staring at your ugly mugs on the way out."

"We're going, we're going!"

Slip waved dejectedly as they walked out and Rey eyed the younger man, and the lingering look he cast toward '87. _Uh huh, so that's how it was,_ she thought. 2187 had never mentioned anything to her but then, he was pretty oblivious to the appreciative looks that were sent his way when they went out.

She smiled at her friend. "I'm going to go talk to Maelin real quick and they we'll head out," she said, pulling her apron off. The bar was all but empty tonight, with most of the town going to the same show as she was. Maelin was going tomorrow and she would work solo, which was pretty uncommon as Maelin seemed to prefer working in his bar over just about anything else.

Rey walked into the back and found her boss overseeing his small brewing operation. He served all the usual favorites that were imported but he also liked to craft his own liquors in the backroom of his bar.

He didn't seemed to have heard her enter the room. "Hey, I'm clocking out now, if that's alright," she said.

The twi'lek didn't look up as he answered. "Sure, Rey. See you tomorrow," he replied absently and she heard a tired thread in his voice.

Rey's brow furrowed. "Is everything alright?"

Maelin finally looked up. "I'm sorry?"

"Are you alright?" she asked again, carefully.

He blinked several times before nodding quickly. "Oh! I'm sorry. I've got a few things one my mind. Nothing to worry about, though. I'll see you tomorrow," he said as he walked past her and back out into the bar.

She pursed her lips a bit but it wasn't her business, really, and she didn't think Maelin would appreciate her pushing the issue. Rey dropped her apron on a hook by the door and came back out. '87 was waiting for her and she smiled as she came around the counter.

On Earth, if she'd been intending to go to a show, she would have dressed up for it, carefully applying her makeup and styling her hair into luxurious curls. She'd have chosen a beautiful evening dress or at the very least a nice top.

Her hair hadn't seen any heat applied to it except from the sun and it had gotten so long that she now tied it back into three small buns. Breeka had been the one to do it the first time, mimicking the mohawk of bright orange hair that grew on her own head. It was a bit fancier than just a ponytail, but after 2187 had complimented her, she'd stuck with it.

Her hair was the only thing that was anything but casual. Here, there was no point in dressing up because very few people had 'going out clothes'. There wasn't much point when there were few places to go. She dusted off the beige and white fabric of her work clothes and walked with 2187 towards the center of town where the play would be shown. The city was in full swing tonight as the crowds moved with them towards the giant tent. The play would only be here two or three days before moving on and everyone wanted to get in. Entertainment on Ord Canfre seemed almost an afterthought but when presented with something so rare and eventful, everyone flocked towards it.

"What is this play about, again?" she asked, eyeing the posters that had been pasted to the sides of a few buildings.

"It's a reenactment of the rise of the Galactic Empire after the fall of the Old Republic," '87 said enthusiastically.

"And you thought I'd want to watch that?" she asked with a raised brow.

2187 looked thoughtful. "It's not about the Corellian empire. Before the Supreme Ruler was even born, there was another Empire that spanned around forty percent of the galaxy. It was born out of the crumbling ruins of the Old Republic after the Jedi were massacred."

That was new. She'd seen a few mentions here and there about the 'Old Empire' in the literature that she'd been given by Maelin, but there had never been anything about 'Jedi'. It was easiest to just ask. "What are Jedi?"

2187 shrugged a bit. "You'll find out during the play. If you have any questions after, I can try to answer but history was never exactly my strongest suit."

She nodded, unsure but unwilling to give up the night of excitement. They were seated in what she would have dubbed the 'nosebleed' section had they been back on Earth but the place was fairly small so they were still close enough to see what was happening.

The actors were a mixture of human and sentient, with many dressed in lavish costumes unlike anything Rey had seen so far on Ord Canfre. Perhaps that's how the upper echelons of the empire dressed or perhaps it was an exaggeration just as the movements and dialogue were fairly hyperbolic. Still, she clapped along with the crowd when some particularly daring hover-work occurred or during the fights sequences. But it was really more of a love story. The poor boy turned Jedi Knight and his doomed bride, a senator who worked tirelessly for the Republic until being assassinated by the Jedi. Her death had revealed that the boy-knight was the dark exemplar and had set off the chain reaction that put an insane emperor in power after he proclaimed himself the light exemplar.

 _It was an interesting play,_ she thought as it came to an end, though how much of it was true, she didn't know—if both men had truly been exemplar or if neither had been. It was ambiguous even in the play and she was still unsure what being an exemplar really meant. It was important to some people, she knew, and it seemed as though everyone had some idea of what it was but not a specific definition or purpose. She still cheered with the crowd when the actors came out for a final bow and got up with 2187. The crowd was heavy and slow moving, and Rey could hear the conversations flowing around her as people talked about the lovestory of the Jedi and the Senator. It turned her stomach to hear the the women—and quite a few men—gush over what it would be like to have the Supreme Ruler be so devoted as The Jedi had been in the past.

"So what did you think?" he asked once they'd finally exited the tent and had a little room to walk side by side again.

She forced the gossip of the other people from her mind. "I liked it. Thank you for taking me," she said with a smile, taking his arm again. She'd liked the play overall. it was a fun diversion from the usual monotony and she had truly enjoyed the story, even if it was particularly tragic. The pair of them strolled down the street and Rey noticed once more, the appreciative looks being thrown towards the proud soldier. 2187 didn't notice as usual and Rey allowed a slightly mischievous look to cross her face.

"So, why don't you have a girl or boyfriend?" she asked innocently.

2187 abruptly came to a halt, his mouth hanging open. "R—Rey! Why are you—What brought this on?"

She pursed her lips and shrugged. "Oh well, I see people eyeing you everytime we step out together but you never seem to notice."

He flushed and brought a hand up to scratch the back of his head in embarrassment. "I—I It's not something I've ever really thought about."

 _Clearly,_ she thought with a wry smile. Slip had been pretty transparent about it and she'd only been in his presence a few minutes.

"Are stormtroopers not allowed to be in relationships?" It was the only explanation she could think of.

He was blushing furiously, looking anywhere but at her. "We are. I'm just . . . just not right for anyone right now. I'm just a stormtrooper."

"But you're a unit leader," she said eyeing the orange pauldron on his shoulder.

'87 smiled but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "The empire doesn't tell you this when you sign up but stormtroopers are the lowest ranked and most expendable soldiers. I was told I would eventually have the opportunity to be promoted to officer but in reality, only those who can afford to go to the academy get the chance to become an officer. In a few years, I'll either be discharged or promoted but they rarely promote from the 'trooper corps unless a high ranking officer recommends you for a commission.

"I don't want to start something with someone . . . when there will always be a chance that I won't come back from a mission. It's fairly safe here on Ord Canfre but I could be called to the uncharted zone at any moment to fight for the empire." '87 didn't seem terribly happy with the idea of being discharged and she could tell he still had dreams of being an officer.

Her head tilted. "You practically run the entire 'trooper corp here on Ord Canfre—"

"And after I am discharged and sent to Corellia for education training in another field, someone else will take my place," he finished for her.

"Corellia. . ." she echoed softly.

"The capital of the empire," 2187 confirmed. Of course she knew the empire was the Corellian Empire but she'd never given much thought beyond that.

"Have you ever been?" she asked, suddenly curious.

The stormtrooper allowed a half-smile. "Once, when I had just enlisted. I was only a kid but it's . . . a beautiful planet. Amazing silver cities and green for as far as the eye can see. The Supreme Ruler is very strict on what can be built on that planet as he prefers it to remain mostly untouched," he said and she could hear the awe in his tone.

"Wish I could see it," she said and Rey was surprised that she genuinely meant it. She wanted to see places other than this little rim planet. Maelin had spoken of the beauty of Ryloth with same look of wistfulness and Breeka had told her stories of planets where every day was a celebration that had people dancing in the streets.

He squeezed her hand. "I'm sure you will. One day. Maybe we can go together. Eventually I'll be able to get an ID chip made for you and you'll be an imperial citizen. I'll go back to the Corellia to receive my education but there's nothing that says you can't come with me. You can get another job there, easily enough," he said and she heard the happiness in his voice.

Rey smiled and nodded. It was a nice thought on the surface. However, going to another planet and working another dead end job as a waitress was the last thing she wanted to do. But then, if it was going to take her a hundred years to save enough money to buy a ship, she might as well do it on a beautiful planet rather than a dustball backwater world. She'd need to give it more thought, but at this point, that was all still years away.

They stopped in front of her building and she gave '87 a hug before the two parted with the promise to meet up again in a few days. Rey walked up the stairs to the third floor and unlocked her door. She let out a sigh as she entered and closed the door behind her. The lock slid in place and she quickly shed her work clothes for something looser and more comfortable. Baggy, harem style pants and what passed for a sweatshirt on this planet beat out the tighter more durable trousers and lower cut tops that got her the most tips at the bar.

She dropped her underthings into a crude woven basket that she'd traded a charcoal portrait for at the market. She did that on occasion to make some extra credits. Not many people on Ord Canfre were interested in art as it didn't serve much purpose but every once in awhile a merchant passing through would purchase a few of her drawings. She'd never tried to sell any of her paintings as that would take too much time, energy, and credits to set up a stall and the likelihood of her selling enough to justify the expense was pretty slim, in her opinion.

She'd eventually need to do something with all the canvases that were slowly piling up as her room wasn't large enough to store everything. Rey looked over the small space of her apartment and her eyes hit the slightly bulging kraft-colored envelope sitting on the counter.

"Shit . . ." she muttered when she realized what it was.

She'd almost forgotten to pay her rent. Her landlord was more than a little strict about that. A day late cost five more credits. Rey quickly wrapped a makeshift ruana around her shoulders and slipped her feet back into her shoes before walking down to the first floor. She dropped the packet into the drop box beside her landlord's door. _Well, that was one less thing to worry about._

Rey was about to head back upstairs when she heard something. Her eyes narrowed and she opened the door out to the street and looked out. It was the 'trooper siren and her head tilted in confusion before she finally figured out why it was going off. They were after someone!

Crime was almost non-existent in De'Pruren so the siren was a rare sound and she was aware that sometimes the very bored 'troopers got a bit . . . overzealous when it came to apprehending a criminal. Rey wasn't expecting to see anything and was about to head back inside when a flash of blue caught her eye. Someone was running towards her! They were shorter than her and most of their skin was covered but for the flash of cerulean that showed between their goggles and the rather bulging headscarf.

Rey blinked a few times as the person ran closer. She recognized that jacket . . .

"Caladon!" she called quietly, and the boy came to almost a dead halt before her.

"Rey?" he asked, hesitantly.

She shook her head at the son of Maelin. "What did you do?" she asked in exasperation.

He looked behind him before looking back up at her pleadingly. She furrowed her brow before shrugging and gesturing with a sharp motion of her head that he should go inside. He quickly ran behind her and she shut the door to the building.

The 'troopers ran by and she felt sort of bad for hiding a criminal but Caladon was the son of her boss. There were only so many options when presented with that kind of situation and Caladon wasn't a bad kid.

Rey turned back to him. "Come on. You can stay with me for a few hours until things die down and then we'll get you back to your dad."

He pulled his scarf down and his goggles up, revealing his lekku and face. "Are you going to tell him what happened?" he asked quietly.

"I don't know what happened," she said as they ascended the stairs. "You still haven't filled me on on why you were being chased by stormtroopers."

The boy looked entirely too innocent. "We were just having some fun," he said sheepishly.

Rey smiled at that, amused that the excuses of children didn't vary much no matter when planet one was on. "Uh huh," she said, "and what sort of fun where you getting up to?"

Caladon hesitated as they reached the landing of the third floor and walked down to her door. She unlocked it and pushed it open for the boy.

"Well, Jerin got these spray tubes of green," he began but paused as he took in her apartment. He blinked a few times before exclaiming dramatically as only a fourteen year old could, "Rey, your walls!"

She shut the door and came up behind the boy. "Not your cup of tea?" she asked off handedly before going to her sink and pouring them both a glass of water.

He was still looking around wide-eyed as he stammered out, "No! No, nothing like that!" Caladon took the glass and gulped down some of the water before adding, "They're amazing! Who did this?"

Rey walked around him to sit in her lone chair in the apartment. It was an ancient stuffed chair with quite a few holes but it had been within in her decorating budget; free. "I did," she answered.

He turned back to her. "You—With _what?"_ the boy asked incredulously.

"Whitewash and cloth dyeing pigments," she said gesturing over to the many buckets of paint that she had stacked in the corner along with most of her complete paintings.

Caladon continued to blink several times as looked around and she watched with a soft smile as he touched the walls and examined the little details here and there.

"I've never seen anything like this," he murmured.

Now that, she hadn't been expecting to hear. Rey tilted her head. "Never?"

He shook his head, lekku swinging behind him. "No, never."

"Huh," she said thoughtfully. Perhaps hand painted art really wasn't terribly widespread. She'd thought that it was just this planet that didn't have it.

Caladon finally spotted the pile of canvases in the corner and once he'd realized exactly what they were, he sat himself down on her floor and began flipping through them. Most were her more abstract colorful art but there were portraits of people mixed throughout. Humans and sentients she'd seen and met in De'Pruren—Caladon's father among them—along with images of people who were important to her.

There was also . . .

Caladon pulled a painting from the pile that ran in stark contrast to the rest. While most were vibrant and slightly unfocused, this one was a sharp image of man surrounded by darkness. His large nose and full lips should have made him off-putting but he was striking even on her crude canvas.

"Who is this?" Caladon asked, his head tilting from side to side like an eager puppy.

Rey swallowed as she kept her breathing even and her voice pleasant. "No one important. Just someone I saw at the landing port," she said lightly.

Caladon didn't look like he believed her and he examined the painting again. It really was quite different from everything else in her tiny collection and if even a boy like Caladon noticed . . .

He didn't run his fingers over this one like the others. "He looks . . . scary," the boy murmured.

Rey tried not to grimace. "He's the stuff of nightmares," she said honestly.

Caladon almost hastily put the painting back down as if the man in the portrait would come out and get him. The boy continued flipping through the paintings, his eyes alighting with each new image as it was revealed.

"Hey, that's my dad!"

She smiled. "Yeah, that's Maelin."

Caladon pulled the painting out and fully into the low light of the apartment. It was a long painting depicting the counter of the bar. Maelin was standing in the center behind the counter cleaning a glass while customers drank and spoke to one another on either side. Most of the work was done in shades of brown, red and grey with Maelin's striking green skin standing in sharp contrast to the rest of the image.

"Has he seen this?"

Rey tilted her head. "No. No one except my friend, 2187 ever sees this stuff. It's not really fit for public consumption."

"You should show it to him. He would love it!" Caladon said earnestly.

She snorted. "If you say so, kid."

"I do," he said, his voice serious, "These are all so great. I wish I could make this kind of art."

Rey smiled. "Anyone can make art, it's just a question of honing your talent and finding your niche."

Caladon looked dubious but shrugged. "Can I have one?"

She tilted her head before nodding. "Sure. You can take almost any of them. I've got to start getting rid of them anyway."

There were eleven of them there in varying sizes but only a few actually meant anything to her.

"Can I have the one with my dad?" he asked, clutching the desired painting.

"Go right ahead."

Caladon smiled as he held it up, looking it over again.

* * *

Kylo Ren's eyes slowly opened and he clenched his fist. That memory . . . he was reliving the important moments of the exemplars . . . again. _She_ was living them for the first time. He'd seen it all before—the joy and the tragedy of the exemplar.

The swirling blue and white of hyperspace cast ripples of light in his quarters and he looked through the viewport, remembering that he could not go to her . . . not yet, anyway. He was the Supreme Ruler and with that came the responsibilities of governing the largest empire the galaxy had ever known.

He wished that he'd been there with her during her awakening but from the little he could glean from their connection, nothing major had happened to her yet. Her power was still barely noticeable—a soft chime in his mind, reminding him of his purpose—to find her and to teach her.

To rule with her and keep the Force and the galaxy in balance.

This memory though . . . a reminder of his past and the pain and madness that came with losing one's exemplar. Anakin Skywalker had succumbed to the darkside—had allowed himself to be controlled so he could forget his pain. Snoke had tried to do the same, but _he_ . . . _Kylo Ren_ would be controlled by no one. He had destroyed Snoke and then _waited,_ holding on to his last vestiges of humanity even while his eyes showed his losing battle with the darkness.

But now she'd come. She was waiting safe and sound back on her little undiscovered planet for him to return to her, and he would not be weak as Vader had been. His grandfather had destroyed everything in his misguided quest to keep his wife—the light exemplar safe. He'd been manipulated by the _Sith_ and had been too stupid to see it.

Kylo turned away from the viewport and picked up his helmet, his mind wandering back to the dream. The beginning of the end.

"I'll always protect you, Padme," his grandfather had whispered. _A lie._

"I love you . . . Anakin Skywalker."

* * *

The painting of Kylo Ren is actually based on this image: **goo . gl/eS9lR9**

Short URL to make it easier on you guys. Just remove the spaces around the period.

It pops up here and there through out the story. :)


	11. Chapter 11

Kylo Ren stood at the front of the bridge, his back to the techs and officers that moved about the _Finalizer._ He'd have normally had Hux come to him aboard the _Defender_ but the man was needed to direct the latest ground assault on a recently discovered Resistance stronghold within their territory.

He grimaced. These terrorists kept springing out of the darkness of the uncharted zone like Dantooine roaches—the kind that eroded a structure to its very foundations if left unchecked.

"Lord Ren," the general called from behind him.

Kylo turned and spotted the familiar ginger hair of his . . . friend. Hux's expression was closed off, but he met Kylo's gaze readily and without hesitation—as was to be expected of him. "General, we need to have a discussion—in private."

Hux's jaw tightened fractionally and if the Knight had not spent the last few hundred years fighting side by side with the general, he'd have surely missed even that small tell. As it was, Hux gave a short nod and said quietly, "Of course, Supreme Ruler. This way, please."

The general made a motion for the Supreme Ruler to come and Kylo followed Hux off the bridge and into the man's private office. The room was lit sparingly as was usual for Hux's aesthetic. Artifacts were displayed around the office on the walls and upon pedestals when warranted. Hux's personal collection of ancient weapons was a fascinating glimpse into the mind of the man, himself.

Kylo eyed a very specific weapon that was carefully placed upon its own display stand behind Hux's desk. The lightsaber of Mace Windu, the indigo blade of a man who had straddled the line of the light and the dark before becoming a Jedi master. It was a relic that Kylo coveted but Hux had found it first and the Knight was not one to steal something that obviously meant so much to his ally.

If the general noticed his staring he did not comment on it. Instead, he stood in front of his ornate dark wood desk and asked primly, "What can I do for you, Lord Ren?"

Kylo was still admiring the decor when he responded almost automatically. "When we are in private you know you can address me as Kylo."

It was an old line—one he'd said a hundred times and Hux's response was, as always, a raised brow and a dismissal. "I'll use your name," he said, "when you take off that ridiculous mask."

Kylo looked up finally from where his finger had glided over the hilt of a Mandalorian ceremonial sword. Never before had Kylo ever felt the slightest inclination to acquiesce. _Until now,_ he realized with an odd tilt of his head. Hux had hated the mask and had ranted and raved when Kylo made the decision to don it over two hundred years ago. The Supreme Ruler was silent for a long moment, staring at the person who could be considered his oldest friend.

 _It was time,_ he decided . . .

Kylo reached up and pushed his hood back, taking a strange sort of satisfaction as Hux's eyes widened. His fingers glided over the releases and there was a hissing as he removed the helmet and he looked at Hux with just his own eyes for the first time is over a hundred years.

The man had gone silent, his gaze sliding over Kylo's face, taking in everything that had changed and stayed the same.

"Your eyes . . ." he began in wonder.

The Supreme Ruler swallowed. "I no longer bear the mark of the Sith. The darkness has . . . receded, and my mind—things are clearer now." And they were. His paranoia had lessened and his connection to the Force had evened out significantly.

"Since Earth," the general guessed.

"Yes. They must have . . ." His nostril flared in remembered pain and anger. "The girl, she was frightened, but not of my eyes. Just being so close—even to the planet—after going so long without the light seems to have been enough . . . for now," he said, reliving the feeling that had filled him when he'd thought he'd found her.

Hux had a million thoughts running through his mind and they were too fast for Kylo pick up anything individually unless he deliberately yanked on something. He didn't think Hux would appreciate that. In the past, Kylo might not have cared but things were different, _he_ was different.

And Hux seemed to sense that as well. "When are you going back?" he asked.

Kylo grimaced as the reasoning for the delay was once more in the forefront of his mind. "As soon as this debacle is taken care of."

And just like that, the general's pleasant mood evaporated. "I can not be held responsible for Admiral Johanem's blunders. He is, after all, my _superior,"_ Hux said acidly.

A fact that his friend never failed to remind him of. "Johanem is being disciplined for his involvement—"

Hux cut him off, fury lacing his tone. " _Involvement?_ Is that the word we're using? The communications arrays were deliberately sabotaged by someone who was conscripted on his orders."

Kylo gritted his teeth. Nothing was ever easy with Hux. "I am dealing with that, and don't act as though you've never done the same."

The general's eyes narrowed and his lip curled. "Of course I have. And nearly every one of them has gone on to become high ranking and decorated officers and they've _thanked_ me for it."

Hux's lack of shame on the subject spoke volumes about what was going on. It was an open secret in the military that if a civilian caught the interest of an officer with enough clout, said civilian could find themselves facing trumped up charges and drafted into service. Kylo normally looked the other way—as did most others. There was a war going on, after all.

But the destroyed array was an example of the pitfalls of such a practice. The empire had lost the last battle and had been forced to retreat after supplies had been cut off from one of their border planets. Even now, Kylo was still receiving secret transmissions from the monarch of the planet asking why the empire had not liberated them yet. It was why Kylo was there; to beef up the fleet in the sector and take back the planet.

The cracks in the facade of the Imperial fleet were beginning to show. Hux had denied it long enough.

"What are we going to do about the stormtroopers?" Kylo asked carefully. It was a subject that had been discussed time and again with little give on Hux's part—but no more.

The general looked away from him for the first time. "There is nothing wrong with them. They are perfectly trained—"

Kylo's fist slammed down onto the desk. "In following orders. When they are cut off from us, they freeze like a doe in the light of a speeder. The communications array went down and four _thousand_ of them were captured on Lwhekk! They didn't know what to do so they just surrendered."

Hux's jaw tightened. "Independence is not an admirable quality in a foot soldier."

The Supreme Ruler shook his head. "They can not just be foot soldiers if we expect to win this war. The Resistance has already detected this weakness and their strategy has changed to accommodate it—I know you've noticed it too. Their systematic assassination of the ground leaders and then signal jamming has caught us with our pants around our ankles. Was the loss of contact not taken into consideration when designing this training regiment?"

Hux's jaw tightened. "It was noted as a flaw but it was seen as a negligible threat."

He'd known that of course, but this was the first time he'd succeeded in getting Hux to admit any kind of fault. "Your 'negligible threat' has the potential of bringing the empire to its knees. The entire system needs an overhaul," Kylo said, his head shaking in disgust.

The general looked as though he'd swallowed a bug. "Our training is based on a thousand years of storm and clone trooper data."

Kylo didn't roll his eyes—he wasn't wearing his mask after all—but it was a close thing. "It is inferior and you know it or you would not study the teachings of so many ancient cultures and their warriors," he said as his eyes moved back towards the lightsaber.

Hux's face closed off. "I admire the strength of will of a perfect warrior but the type of person that would wield any of the weapons in this room could never be a stormtrooper. That kind of person would not allow themselves to be controlled that way."

"Then perhaps you need to relinquish some control."

Now the general was the one who looked disgusted. "And have millions of 'troopers running amok and doing whatever they like? There would be chaos."

Kylo would concede that but not much more. "Then find a middle ground. _But get it fixed_. We can not afford to keep losing so spectacularly. If the press gets wind of this weakness, the empire will falter. I can not keep bailing your troops out."

"I've got it handled," Hux said through gritted teeth.

Kylo raised a brow. "As you say, but another embarrassment like this and you will find yourself playing ambassador to some backwater world."

"You cannot pull me from the front," Hux said, agitation clear in his voice.

The Supreme Ruler pulled his mask back on, securing it in place. "Then don't make it so I have to. Clean up your mess," Kylo said before he turned and left the room. He heard Hux slam his fist down onto the desk but ignored it. He'd indulged his favorite general long enough. Ideally, it would only be a month or two more before he could leave the front and go back to Earth. She was waiting for him there.

* * *

Rey put the finishing touches on what she had dubbed her 'lovers' series. There was a through line in many of her visions. Most—though not all—of them involved people who were experiencing an almost soul-crushing love for one another.

It was starting to grate on her.

Was _that_ what the shitlord had wanted from her? Should she have pretended to want his goddamn hands all over her? Where would she be now if she had allowed him to do as he pleased that day in the shuttle? Rey had been conflicted over the what-ifs of the situation for days, but she'd finally come to the conclusion that he would have dumped her somewhere eventually anyway once he'd figured out that she wasn't the light exemplar. Kylo Ren had left her to suffocate and die in his ship. He was just that type of person.

The visions though . . . she'd written them off initially as perhaps some kind of weird side-effect of PTSD, but after 2187 had finally confronted her about the things she was painting—things she should have no knowledge of, she'd had to fess up.

He'd been so supportive of her and had eventually given her a datapad on Force history. That type of thing wasn't covered on the standard imperial curriculum so she'd never read anything about what actually went on when a person was connected to the Force. It had been hard for her to accept the truth but it made the most sense. Rey was 'Force-sensitive', and that was why Kylo Ren had mistaken her for the exemplar. She'd just been close by and perhaps if the girl he really sought somehow hadn't been there that day, he might have just taken the first girl with some sensitivity. After all, he'd only been 'fairly sure' that he'd had the right girl.

Rey just hoped that when he eventually tracked down the light exemplar, that she wouldn't have to see _that_ as well. Being forced to live through a vision of _that man_ and someone who looked like Rey would probably be more than she could handle. She felt bile rise in her throat at the thought, and her eye twitched in irritation as she stepped back to get a better look at the painting.

This one depicted a human woman and what she'd recently identified as a Kage male. They were locked in a battle against a shadowy enemy but their fingers brushed against one another as they moved. The woman, an older lady with pale blonde hair used a green sword of light while the other, a male with striking yellow eyes used a large blaster.

The image was still but Rey felt she'd captured the movement of both people—she hoped so anyway. She was still unsure about her own ability, and that fear had been gnawing at her the last few weeks. She'd stuck more to pencil sketches back on Earth and it had always just been a hobby, never something to be taken seriously. But after Caladon had taken the picture of Maelin back to her boss, the twi'lek had asked her to bring a few pieces to the bar to hang up. The one she'd painted of him was already hanging on the wall opposite the counter over a chess table.

He was giving her twenty credits per painting for three or four of them. The ones she was giving him were of her more fantasy-creature driven art. Maelin didn't seem the type to really be into her pictures of romance so she was keeping those for now. Her 'lovers' were also her largest pieces, probably too big for the bar.

There was a knock at her door and she quickly washed her hands before unlocking and opening it. Her boss's son stood there, his smile bright.

"Caladon!" she said, surprised to see the boy.

"I came to help you carry the paintings!" the boy said as he came inside and made a complete bee-line towards her stack of art.

He stopped before her current work. "Wow," he said as he eyed it. "Are we taking this one?"

Rey shook her head. "No, this is too big for the bar and not really the kind of thing Maelin told me he wanted to see."

"Oh," Caladon said, a bit glumly. "I guess he did say he wanted some colorful stuff to liven the place up."

She smiled. "I picked a few out over there," she said as she pointed towards the three other paintings. "But I'm going to be late if we don't leave now." The boy nodded as she pulled off her make-shift painting apron and picked up one of the canvases. Caladon picked up the other two and they headed for the door. She paused long enough to draw another hash mark onto her wall. _One hundred and six now,_ she thought, her brow slightly furrowed. She stuffed the pencil back into her pocket and shut the door shut and locked it behind them.

"Thanks for helping me with this," she said as they descended the stairs to the first floor.

"It's no problem. I like looking at your work."

She smiled and raised a brow. "I saw some of _your_ work yesterday." The green paint had been rather striking against the pale sand-colored building.

Caladon didn't even pretend ignorance. "It's nothing compared to what you're doing. I wasn't even able to finish it."

She raised a brow. "Well, perhaps next time try a small amount of paint and maybe somewhere you have permission so you can make it look exactly the way you want it."

The boy shrugged as they walked silently the rest of the way, navigating the crowds of the market and finally arriving at the bar. Maelin waved at them as they entered. "Well, let's see what you have there."

Rey hoped he like the paintings. Twenty credits each for three paintings was a massive sum for her. A drop in the bucket of her dream to buy a ship to go back home, but every extra credit she added to her safe deposit box was one credit closer to that dream.

She turned the canvases around and placed them on the counter before Maelin. Some of the regulars were also looking her art over but didn't say anything. She was nervous. The Earth girl had never painted for any purpose but recreational and now she was trying to actually sell her art. Her stomach churned as Maelin looked the pieces over, his expression curious.

He blinked at them and his head tilted in curiosity. "What are they? I don't recognize the species."

She blinked. "Oh! I—I'm sorry. They are creatures of legend from my world. This one—"she pointed to the canvas that depicted swirling blue and green around a tailed-creature "—is a mermaid. They would sing and lure sailors to their deaths with their beauty. This one—" the next image showed soft mix of purples and pinks "—is a unicorn, a symbol of purity and innocence on my world." her finger moved to the final canvas. "The last one is called a dragon." That painting was an fusion of fiery reds and oranges splashed with white.

"I like the dragon," Caladon piped up.

Maelin smiled. "Me too. You'll sell me all three?"

Rey nearly slumped in relief. "Of course. I'm glad you like them!"

"Oh I do. Actually I wanted to talk more with you about that." He turned to his son, "Caladon, why don't you go and hang these up while I talk to Rey about a few things."

"Sure, dad," the boy said, pulling the canvases off the counter and walking off.

Rey watched him for a second before turning back to Maelin and giving him a questioning look. He just smiled at her as he lead her to the back of the bar and into his office.

"Is something the matter?" she asked, unsure.

He shook his head, his lekku swaying lazily behind him. "Oh! No no. Everything is fine. I just wanted to talk to you about Caladon."

Her eyes furrowed in confusion. "What about him?"

He shut to door and they sat down in front of his desk. She rarely came in here as she got the distinct impression that this was Maelin's sanctuary away from the hustle and bustle of the bar and life in general.

The twi'lek gave her a small smile. "He speaks very fondly of you and your art. He really admires your work."

Rey blinked several times. "Oh. He has talent in his own right, he just needs a bit of practice," she said encouragingly.

Maelin's expression was exasperated. "Ideally, not on the walls of my neighbors," he said with shake of his head. "I wanted to speak to you about perhaps teaching him to paint the way you do—with a more productive outlet."

Her brow furrowed. "I—I've never taught anyone before."

Maelin didn't seem surprised and he sighed. "I'm hoping that if he has lessons with you he will be less likely to hang around with people who would put him in a bad situation. If you hadn't taken him in that night . . ."

She swallowed. Rey had heard stories of people being arrested and never coming back again. "I am flattered that you would ask me but—"

He cut her off. "I know you already have a second job so you don't have as much time to fit this in but I thought that perhaps in place of your job here in the evenings, you can use the back room to teach him. I'll still pay you, of course and since you would not be earning tips, I'd raise your salary to a full credit per hour that you spend teaching him."

She bit her lip. A full credit per hour wasn't bad to teach a boy to paint. "I can try—about supplies—"

Maelin nodded quickly. "I'll pay for that of course. Caladon tells me you make your own paints and . . . canvases?"

"Yes, I make them myself," she said with a nod.

"Bring me a receipt for the supplies and I'll reimburse you. And you can make your canvases here while on the clock, if that would make things easier."

She nodded and they got up and he shook her hand. The gesture made her smile as she remembered talking to him about it over a month ago. They went out into the main room again and Caladon had apparently hung the paintings up already. He bounded up to his father. "Did you ask her?"

Maelin smiled indulgently at his son. "Yes, she will be teaching you."

"Mog!" the boy said and Rey had identified that as the De'Pruren word for 'cool'.

A few of the customers were looking at the paintings, and Rey noticed that Waldreg was there as well. It wasn't often that the little man left his shop, but he did stop in from time to time. His eyes slid over to her he gestured towards the door before walking out.

Ray blinked in confusion but she wasn't quite on the clock yet so she turned back to Maelin. "Waltreg needs something. I'll be back in a minute." Her boss waved her away and she walked out of the bar. The broker wasn't on the street so she went next door and into his shop. He was back behind the counter and already working on his next little project, polished gemstones rather than coins this time.

She raised her chin a bit. "What can I do for you, Wally?"

He hated that she called him that but he never said anything since she paid her safety deposit bill on time every month.

He wasn't looking at her and he was trying to play it cool but he'd been the one to ask her to come in which meant whatever it is he wanted, it was important. "I didn't know you . . . painted," he said quietly.

She looked at him oddly. "It's not really something we usually talk about, no."

Waldreg finally looked up and met her eyes. "Painting is something of a lost art these days."

Rey nodded in agreement. "I've noticed that, it's all holo art."

"Do you have others?" he asked.

Ah, that's what this was about. "Yes, I do," she said as she pulled her phone out and opened up her gallery. She'd snapped pictures of all her works since she'd planned to try and get rid of them at some point. Rey put the phone down on the counter and showed him how to flip between the photos so he could see them all.

"These are part of a series I've been painting called the 'lovers'."

He flipped between the images, pinching in and out and taking in the details. "How many do you have in this—series?"

"There are eight in all." To coincide with how many visions she'd had.

The broker pushed the phone back. "Maelin bought those other ones for twenty credits each, yes?"

Rey nodded. "Yes he did."

"I'll buy all eight for that price."

"All of them?" Rey hadn't expected that. One or two maybe, but all eight? Waldreg obviously saw some value in her hobby. If there was value . . . Rey could use that.

Wally tried for nonchalance. "Yes. I think I can sell them off world to some people on the festival circuit as a novelty."

Her chin lifted. "I want thirty each," she stated calmly.

His face scrunched up. "Thirty? You sold the others to Maelin for twenty!"

Rey was unimpressed. "I _like_ Maelin. Don't think I haven't found out how much you screwed me on that ring. That much platinum would have gotten me a ship and off this rock _months_ ago. An extra ten lousy credits is the _least_ you can do."

The little man didn't argue and he seemed rather put out. "Can't blame a man for trying to make a living."

"You took advantage of me and you know it," she said heatedly.

"Fine, thirty credits," Waldreg said with a shake of his head. He paused a moment before inquiring, "those other ones . . .?"

He was referring to the portraits of 2187, Poe and a few others. "Those aren't for sale."

Wally shrugged. "Bring them in tomorrow and I will have your money ready."

She nodded. "Enjoyed doing business with you, Wally."

He didn't seem amused, only shooed her out of the shop. Two hundred and forty credits from Wally on top of the sixty she'd be getting from Maelin to add to her savings. It wasn't a bad haul, all things considered.

"What did Waldreg want?" Maelin asked as she stepped back inside the bar. A few customers were admiring the new art and she smiled.

"He bought the rest of my paintings," she said almost absently.

The twi'lek clapped her on the back. "Rey, that's great!"

"It is, isn't it," Rey answered quietly.

Things were generally quiet after that, at least for the next couple of months. Rey spent a few hours before and after her usual shift at the bar in the back room instructing Caladon on how to correctly show shadow and light as well as overall image construction to make sure scale and dimension were realistic in his art. She would occasionally put music on from her phone while they worked.

The twi'lek boy seemed fascinated not just by her art but by her music and the limited movies she had on her phone as well. They didn't seem to have anything quite like her smartphone around there, at least not in De'Pruren. Rey had explained the concept of film and movies to the boy but he didn't seem to understand everything. Perhaps it was the translation nanites—not everything was translatable. And when she thought about it, there wasn't anything like a cinema or even any televisions beyond the 3-D holo vids that popped up with imperial announcements occasionally.

She'd been sketching out a particularly interesting alien when she'd asked Caladon, "Do you not have movies here?"

Caladon shook his head as he carefully shaded the Ord Canfre equivalent of an orange that he was drawing. "Every once in awhile we'll get a documentary on some of the battles being fought or on something of historical significance. And there are the stage plays, of course. But I've never seen anything like what you have. Your world must be so advanced."

 _Yeah, advanced at entertaining ourselves,_ Rey thought with a self indulgent smile.

She picked up the phone and selected an app. "Why don't we get you on here too." He looked confused so she put an arm around him and held out the phone. "Smile!" she said as she snapped the selfie.

"Nothing happened," the boy said in confusion but she just turned the phone around and held it out to him.

His eyes widened and he took the phone. "That's you and me!" he said with excitement.

She winked at him. "Yep, and now no matter what happens, I'll always have a picture of you."

Caladon blinked. "I want a picture of you too," he said earnestly.

She gave him a mischievous look. "Well I guess you'll just have to get good enough to paint me, won't you."

Caladon all at once looked incredibly serious. "I will."

Rey smiled indulgently and would have ruffled his hair if he'd had any. She turned on his favorite playlist and set the phone back down while they practiced sketching figures. Every once in awhile Maelin would need extra help but when things died down, she went to the back room again and helped Caladon with his drawings, helping him to focus on realistic lines and shading.

 _He was getting better,_ she thought. The last two months had shown that his talent was just waiting to be unlocked and now a few of his sketches were hanging on the walls of the bar beside her paintings.

She was showing Caladon the way she made paint so he could begin making his own when Maelin came into the back room and smiled at the paint-splattered pair.

He gestured behind him. "Rey, Waldreg is outside asking for you and I thought you were due for a break anyway."

She nodded and stood up before turning back to Caladon. "Now just repeat that process, but this time with the red, alright?" The boy nodded as he continued mixing the paint and she walked out into the main room of the bar.

The broker was sitting at one of the tables. He was admiring what she'd figured out was his favorite painting, the one of Maelin. She sat down in front of him. "Hey Wally, what can I do for you?"

He took a sip from his drink. "I found a buyer who is interested in acquiring more pieces of your art for resale."

She tilted her head. "Oh?"

Waldreg nodded. "Yes, he'd like to purchase other pieces on a continual basis, it looks like."

Rey nodded. "How often?" she asked.

The little man shrugged. "One or two per month. Can you do that?"

She thought it over quickly. "I don't know. I suppose so. One seems reasonable. Two might be stretching it. Perhaps three every two months?"

Waldreg nodded and she could tell he was calculating the numbers in his mind. "Same price as before?" he asked.

Rey pursed her lips. "I want fifty credits per painting."

The broker's head snapped up. "Fifty?!" he nearly shouted.

Rey narrowed her eyes. "Yes, _fifty_. I already work two jobs and I get one day off a week. If I'm going to spend that one day working _for you_ , you'll pay me what my time is worth."

Waldreg grimaced but nodded. "Fine."

"And I want better painting bases and pigments."

"How could I poss—"

She cut him off. "I know you Waldreg. I know you are able to get things on the cheap from the regular imperial shipments. If I'm going to sell art of a higher quality to you, I want better supplies to provide it. Trust me, it will be better than my using house paint for your fancy decorative art."

Waldreg gave her a long look before nodding shortly and exiting the shop. He would go and speak to a few contacts about securing her supplies and and she would speak to him later to confirm everything when she made her daily deposit into her deposit box.

Maelin came up behind her. "What was that about?"

"Wally wants me to paint more pieces so he can sell them offworld," she said as she crossed her arm in contemplation.

"You know he's probably cheating you," Maelin stated.

Rey shrugged. "Oh I have no doubt about that, but my options are limited and it's an extra fifty credits a month I can set aside."

Maelin nodded thoughtfully. "Speaking of your art, I was going to ask you for another favor."

She looked up at him, curiously. "Hmm?"

"Caladon showed me some pictures of your apartment. The forest you painted on the walls."

Caladon must have been snooping through her phone when she wasn't looking. It didn't surprise her at all. He was quite enamoured with the little bit of 'primitive' tech.

"It reminds me of home," she said with a soft smile.

The twi'lek nodded. "I thought as much. If I provide you with images, could you perhaps paint something like that on this wall?" he gestured to the large wall behind the counter. "I'd love it if we could have a twi'lek forest in here."

She nodded as her eyes passed over the wall. "I could do that, I think. Caladon might be able to help me in a few parts as well."

"Even better," the man said.

Her boss was a funny guy. She was slowly getting the impression that he was what she'd have considered a hipster with his dry wit, 'craft' liquors and wall murals. If he had hair, she was sure there would be a man bun and a beard. The thought made her smile.

* * *

Hux has finally made his appearance. He'll pop up more often now that Kylo has joined with the main fleet. I'm sorry about the late update. I've been traveling the last week or so and I'm still trying to get my schedule back to the way it was.


	12. Chapter 12

Kylo stalked through the halls of the _Finalizer_ as officers and 'troopers bowed to him but moved quickly onto their duties. He'd been in the hangar about to disembark and return to the _Defender_ when a junior officer had scurried over and told him he would not be able to leave the ship. The man had been nervous but he'd stood firm with orders he'd received from General Hux. Something was happening—something important. Kylo left the hangar and headed back towards the bridge and it was then that he'd noticed that the comms had become hazy and the holonet feeds had flickered. Neither things should be possible, let along occurring simultaneously.

He entered the bridge to find Hux relaying orders and preparing the ship to jump to lightspeed. The general turned to face him. "Lord Ren, apologies, it will be a bit longer before you can return to your ship."

Even as the man spoke, Kylo could see the _Defender_ just beyond the viewport—that is, he saw it jump away. "What is happening?" he asked as the _Finalizer_ too jumped into hyperspace. The destroyer barely shuddered as it began the journey.

"The rebels are attempting to hijack the holonet. They are currently sending out a signal to try and jam our comms while they work on breaking our encryptions," Hux answered as he picked up a datapad and handed it over.

Kylo took the pad and looked at the readouts, his eyes moving over the signal. "Are you sure this isn't a trap?" he asked, because there, buried within the jamming signal was the location of origin.

Hux's lips pursed and Kylo knew that he had also thought of such an outcome. "There is a probe close to the system and we have not detected any hostile ships. The planet is all but deserted. The location was buried deep—it is pure chance that we even caught their mistake. We will be there momentarily to engage them along with the 38th division fleet."

The 38th was under the command of a lieutenant general, someone below Hux in ranking and who would follow Hux's lead on the attack rather than the ginger haired man having to take orders from someone else.

The supreme Ruler continued to monitor the read-outs from the signal. "How close are they to being able to broadcast?"

Hux was silent and Kylo looked up in time to see the man's jaw twitch. "Too close," he answered as the ship dropped out of hyperspace.

The general turned away and began barking out orders as he coordinated the attack along with the Defender and the ships of the 38th.

"Location!" he called for he and everyone else could see through the viewport that there was nothing but desert on the planet directly below them.

"Korzan plaines in the L2 quadrant."

A holo projection of the planet along with the location of the fleet and the strong hold materialized in front of Hux and his eyes moved swiftly over the image, making instantaneous decisions. Kylo could see that the base was clear on the other side of the planet. The destroyers were not made for speed and it would take time for them to circle the planet.

"Deploy TIE squads one through fifteen and bring us about," the general called and the techs acknowledged as they relayed the orders to the squads and other ships in the vicinity. The fighters were released like a swarm of insects from _Finalizer_ and Kylo could see the other destroyers doing the same as they moved around the planet towards the base location.

Mere minutes later the attack began and information began to stream into the bridge. One of the techs called out, "Sir, they have a planetary deflector shield!"

Hux whirled around towards the hologram of the planet. "Increase speed to maximum auxiliary and get us over those bases! _Now!"_

Another tech spoke up. "Sir, they will be through our holonet encryption in two minutes."

It would take _four_ for the destroyers to be in range the base and able to destroy the deflector shield. Kylo could feel Hux's fury seeping past his senses and then his eyes narrowed.

"Location of the 17th division fleet," he called out.

"Western Reaches. Lorantin Sector."

Hux grimaced. He would have known the location of the 17th division already but the confirmation annoyed him—-not because he would have to ask for help, but _who_ it was he was asking for help from. "Tell them to jump immediately to this planet's location. Relay the base's coordinates and tell them to fire at will the second they arrive! Pull our forces back!"

"Yes, sir!"

They were still not within sight of Resistance base, but Kylo could see the image of the 17th division fleet arriving over the holo projector. The TIEs had left the line of fire as the star destroyers fired upon the base.

But it was already too late.

"Citizens of the empire. You have been lied to."

Kylo felt his stomach drop as he turned to face the Imperial Holonet feed.

A hush had descended upon the crew as the woman continued speaking. "I am General Leia Organa and I fight for your freedom. The Corellian Empire and the Supreme Ruler would have you believe that my people and I are terrorists seeking to destroy your way of life, but that could not be further from the truth."

Kylo's eyes were wide and his jaw was hanging open like many on the Bridge but Hux had other ideas. "Destroy that base! Fire everything we have!"

There was a flurry of movement as the _Finalizer_ was finally in range and it too began to fire on the deflector shield surrounding the base.

The recording continued. "Your leader, Kylo Ren is a _liar_ and not who you think he is. For a hundred years, this galaxy was slowly destroyed by the Sith emperor, Palpatine, and now the _Supreme Ruler_ would have you believe that he fought against such a fate—that he was stronger than his origins."

She paused for effect before continuing. " _He is not._ He is just like his predecessors and he is a _sith!_ He will bring about the downfall of this galaxy just as Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader did in the past. He hides his face under that mask, not to disguise a disfigurement from the war but to hide his sith eyes—"

The transmission was abruptly cut off as the destroyers succeeded in overloading and destroying the deflector shield and began bombing the base. Kylo did not wait for further confirmation from Hux and he left the bridge, walking silently and alone through the ship. He could feel the eyes of the crew on him—on his mask and knew that now they all wondered about him. His fist clenched. Trust Leia Organa to use such underhanded tactics to try and undermine his authority—it was the only real play they had.

"Lord Ren!" a voice called and Kylo stopped and turned to find Hux hurrying behind him.

"General. I am going back to the _Defender._ We can reconvene at another time."

Hux looked around but saw no one in the immediate vicinity and he leaned in. "Our response to this must be swift! We can not allow doubt to linger in the minds of the citizens!"

Kylo waved him away. "Deal with it as you see fit."

Hux shook his head mutinously. "This is not a problem that anyone other that _you_ can fix. Go back to the _Defender_ and prepare."

He was nearly afraid to ask. "Prepare for what?"

"To show the galaxy that you are still the same man that you were before. That you are still the war hero that delivered them from slavery at the hands of the Yuuzhan Vong. You've hidden yourself all these years and we've let you but we can no longer afford that. No more masks, no more holding back." Hux stepped closer and his words became low. "You are the _Supreme Ruler,_ and it's time for you to step back into the spotlight. She just tried to use _your own press_ against you. We will return that back on the Resistance a hundred fold."

Kylo looked away. Hux was right . . . when his eyes had changed, he'd taken a backseat in his own empire—allowing others to delegate and run much of the rule in his place. He'd been afraid of what he would do with absolute power. But things were different now. He'd found the light exemplar and his mind was clear once more.

He nodded. "Leave nothing of that base but rubble and then come to me on the _Defender."_

A slow smile spread over Hux's face as he inclined his head. "Yes, sir," he said before turning and walking back towards the bridge. The trip back to the _Defender_ was short and silent, but Mitaka appeared at his side as he landed, datapad in hand.

The pair walked through the ship with Mitaka updating him on any new relevant information. "Sir, Admiral Johanem will be docking with us in twenty minutes and has requested an audience with you."

Kylo nodded. "General Hux will be arriving shortly as well. Notify me when he has arrived and I will see them both at the same time."

"Yes, sir."

The Supreme Ruler slowed his stride and turned to the lieutenant. "Prepare the mass holo projection room and alert the press that I will be making an statement shortly in response to the Resistance Leader's announcement."

Mitaka's jaw dropped open but he nodded and began typing something on his datapad furiously.

They arrived at his quarters and he paused. "Anything else?"

Mitaka swallowed and his voice lowered a bit. "Sir, we located and procured the items you requested and they have been placed into the adjoining quarters."

Kylo nodded and sent the lieutenant off with a wave. The young man scurried away and Kylo entered his quarters, his eyes instantly drawn to the attack still going on beyond the viewport. The Resistance base would be destroyed soon enough and he turned away, his attention instead on the tablet that sat beside his bed. He picked it up and powered it on, allowing the glow to illuminate the whole room as her smile filled his vision.

He ran a gloved finger over her face before moving away, carrying the pad towards a door that he rarely used. Kylo took a slow breath as he hesitantly typed in the locking code and the door slid open. There was a short hall and then another door that was unlocked for now, but could be re-engaged when the future occupant eventually took up residence.

It opened for him without prompting and he stepped into the dark space. "Lights fifty percent," he called and the entire space was bathed in a golden light cast by three large leafy crystal chandeliers. Every other room on the ship was cold and minimal, but he hadn't been able to stop himself from placing things within this space, things he thought or hoped she would like based on the little he knew about the exemplar. He'd known for a long time that she liked nature and green—mostly from the memory of the forest that he held on to like a life preserver and then there was the glimpse . . .

Kylo walked over and stood before a small side table. The original image he'd drawn laid there—the one he'd used back on earth to find the exemplar. Her smile was wide and mischievous as she'd gazed through a mirror back at someone. He opened the tablet again and picked up the drawing, holding the two side by side. The Supreme Ruler grimaced. He could find no discernable difference still between the girl and the exemplar.

He was tempted to send someone to retrieve her. If he could not have the true exemplar now, he could at least have the substitute to lessen the ache. But no . . . He could not allow himself to be taken in again by the face of another who was not meant to be his. _She was not the one he sought!_ Kylo looked down at her visage, and he knew he should throw the tablet away—destroy it so he would not be reminded of _her_ anymore.

But he needed this tangible thing—something to hold and know that he hadn't imagined the memories from before . . . or the sporadic images and feelings he was getting now. Kylo placed the drawing back down before turning away and looking at the new items that had been added.

It was strange . . . he'd gone months without feeling much from the exemplar besides that she was alive. She had something to keep her occupied, and while it did not make her happy—very little did from what he could tell—it did not sadden her as he'd felt before. No doubt she was finally recovering from not being chosen by him that day on the planet. Perhaps she'd felt him and had felt the emptiness as he did when he'd had left. He would apologize to her for taking the wrong girl, it was a hideous mistake on his part and she wouldn't have known any better.

But his exemplar was . . . content. She was doing something that she enjoyed at times. He'd tried hard to _see_ but he only occasionally caught glimpses of painted walls and sketches. _His exemplar was an artist,_ Kylo had realized. She liked to _create._

All at once, his newly discovered artistic talent had made sense. _He'd gotten it from her._ The Force must have known how hard it would be for him to find her, even having narrowed it down to one planet—but he'd been able to draw her from the glimpse he'd received a few years ago.

Kylo ran his fingers over the sketching supplies he'd had brought in. Pads of expensive papers and smudging pencils for her to use while he procured other tools for her. He would make sure the summer palace was stocked with traditional art supplies, rare though they were.

He'd been planning to leave the front soon, but after this debacle, there was simply no way he could be leave the empire again on such short notice. He'd already left for over a month the first time to find the exemplar, and that was the reason such a strong push had been made into Imperial space.

He would need to be sure the next time that he chose the right girl. Kylo looked down at the image that flickered to life again on the pad. She was so beautiful in his eyes. He'd lost his friend before, but that boy lived on within her and Kylo would not lose them again.

The comm went off in his quarters, interrupting his reverie, and he could hear it chiming softly through the open doorway. Kylo glanced one more time at the drawing on the table before moving away and heading back to his own sanctuary. The doors slid shut behind him and he answered the comm.

"Yes, Mitaka?"

"Sir, Admiral Johanem and General Hux are aboard and waiting to speak with you."

"I'm on my way."

He set the tablet down moved back towards the door. Mitaka waited outside the conference room and the young man seemed rather frazzled. A cursory glance into his mind yielded the cause. Johanem and Hux had never liked one another and had never been afraid to let either and anyone else know. Kylo bit back a sigh as he nodded to Mitaka before entering the room.

"This all your fault!" Johanem said from his place on one side of the table, his words heated and low.

Hux sneered. "Really? And here I was thinking that perhaps this was the handiwork of another of your conscript recommendations, _Admiral."_

Johanem's cheeks flushed red. "How dare y—-"

"Gentleman," Kylo said as he came around to stand centrally between the two men.

Johanem instantly gave a saluted bow that Hux mimicked, more to not be shown up by the admiral than out of any real necessity towards such a gesture.

Johanem spoke first. "Sir, as I was telling _General Hux,_ here, if he had informed my division in the first place about this attack, we could have prevented the hacking of the holonet."

Hux's jaw twitched. "And as _I_ was informing _Admiral Johanem,_ the Resistance had inside help. They broke the encryption far too quickly for it to have been anything _but_ an inside job."

The admiral turned a shade of puce that was unbecoming at the less than thinly veiled accusation.

Kylo shook his head. "Your bickering will get us nowhere," he said rather than addressing either party's grievances.

Hux spoke first, "Of course, sir. We need to move quickly to quell any doubt about yourself or the empire."

"How can we?" Johanem asked incredulously and Kylo got a glimpse of Johanem's mind—his fear was palpable that everything would come crashing down when they could not prove that Kylo Ren had not gone completely dark. The eyes of the sith flashed through the man's mind.

 _Kylo's eyes._

The Supreme Ruler looked at the other man intently. "You saw me . . ."

Johanem looked up but he could not meet the Supreme Ruler's gaze. The admiral had seen him during the final battle with the Yuuzhan Vong—when Kylo himself along with his Knights had driven the enemy from the capital. He'd cut down the invaders left and right without pause or mercy.

The admiral had come with reinforcements, and before the Knights had had a chance to sweep Kylo away from the battlefield, the older man had _seen_ him, the crazed smile on his face and red-yellow eyes of the sith.

He'd never said anything to anyone in all these years, he'd supported the empire and the Supreme Ruler, instead. For all that he hated Hux, he was loyal. Kylo reached up and lifted the mask from his face, barring himself before another of his men. The admiral still would not look at him, afraid of what he'd see.

"Admiral . . . look at me."

Johanem swallowed but his gaze landed obediently on Kylo's face.

* * *

The news broadcast had been playing snippets of General Organa's announcement over the holonet for hours but no one had turned off the projector. Apparently Kylo Ren himself was going to make an announcement at some point. In the meantime, however pundits and politicians alike were simultaneously questioning the Supreme Ruler but keeping their words carefully neutral.

There was a sense of fear not only from the people over the 'net but even with the customers who came through the bar. No one know what to do if Kylo Ren even had such eyes. Rey wasn't sure what to say or think. She wasn't entirely sure what 'sith eyes' were but he'd looked fairly normal to her when she'd seen him.

Caladon would be arriving from school soon for his art lesson, and she thought they would maybe leave the bar and sketch some of the people in the marketplace rather than Rey sitting for him, as they'd been doing the last few weeks while he practiced. She poured another drink for a mandalorian, but he barely acknowledged her, eyes glued to the holonet projector like everyone else.

She really didn't care about whatever the shitlord had to say.

Rey had all but tuned the entire thing out, focusing instead on her job and readying the expensive sheets of paper that Maelin had bought for her to use for Caladon's lesson. She heard the door to bar open, and it was then that she noticed the hush that had descended over the bar.

Rey looked up and her brow furrowed as she realized that Kylo Ren had finally made his appearance on the Holonet. It occurred to her then that in the two hundred and four days that she'd been on Ord Canfre, that she'd never seen him ever address the empire directly. Having something like 'Sith Eyes' must have been quite the insult for the man to actually do something like this, she realized as she finally paid any attention to what he was saying.

"The terrorist Leia Organa came before you all today, with her intent to disrupt the lives of every citizen plain for all to see," he said, his voice the same guttural modulated tone that it had been when she'd last heard it.

A shiver ran down her spine as flashes of the red laser sword and burning red eyes washed over her thoughts. Suddenly it was as if all the air in the room had been sucked out and she was again suffocating in that shuttle waiting for death.

Rey took in a wheezing breath and clutched at the bar to keep from falling to the ground.

Maelin had an arm around her within seconds. "Rey. Are you alright?"

"The Resistance called me a liar—a man who has succumbed to the dark side of the Force and she attempted to prove it by now forcing me to unmask myself."

Rey's breath was shuddering. "I—I'm okay."

"You don't seem okay."

"I wear my mask for personal reasons, but it has become clear that wearing it is not in the best interests of the Empire."

Rey looked up to see Kylo Ren reach up as he had before and hit the releases of his mask. He pulled the helmeted piece up and away revealing the oh-so-familiar face.

She felt her stomach roll and her breakfast threatened to rise up.

"Rey," called another voice and she spotted Caladon on the other side of the bar pointing towards the projection. The boy had a confused look on his face. "Isn't that the nightmare man?

Kylo Ren was still as off-puttingly good looking as he'd been before, and she really was going to throw up now. Rey hurried past her startled boss and headed for the 'fresher. The contents of her stomach hit the bowl and she trembled with disgust and fear.

He's not here. He left you alone. He's not ever coming back.

She told herself these things over and over again, forcing herself to believe them. She was safe from the man who haunted her nightmares. Rey took a steadying breath and looked into the mirror. Her skin was blotchy and her eyes glassy with unshed tears.

There was a knock at the door. "Rey, are you alright?" Maelin called.

She swallowed and tried her best to keep her voice light and unconcerned. "Yeah, I'm fine. I must have ate something bad this morning. Just give me a second."

"Alright, let me know if you need anything."

Rey turned on the faucet, cupping her hands under the running water and bringing it up to her lips to gargle a bit before spitting it out.

She again looked in the mirror. "You're fine. You'll never see him again. He can't hurt you."

* * *

Sorry for the wait, but updates should be back on time from now on. :)


	13. Chapter 13

Rey didn't allow herself to stay in the 'fresher for more than a few minutes—she was at work and breakdown or no breakdown, she had a job to do. She took a quick breath before stepping out and pasting a carefully pleasant expression on her face.

A good number of the people who had been in the bar before had left, meaning the announcement was over. Caladon waved at her and Maelin gave her a searching look but he didn't push her. She swallowed but smiled and came back around the bar.

"I'm sorry about that. I think I ate something bad this morning."

"You said that before, but you're alright now?"

"Oh sure. It's not like I can really get sick," she said dismissively.

She'd come to realize during her months on Ord Canfre that she never felt any aches or pains from a hard day's work or even caught a cold. There were times, late at night, when she wanted to try and claw them—the nanites—out of her. She would be caught in the throes of one of her many nightmares—usually starring the nightmare man, as Caladon had come to call him—and it was as if he was _there_ with her, looking for her and trying to _see_ her. She didn't feel human anymore and the lack of any kind of pain in her life made it hard to stay focused on her goals. Day after day of nothing but the same and nothing to tell her that she was working as hard as she could and always feeling like she should be doing more.

"That's a common side effect," 2187 had said one night when she'd confided in him. "It happens to a lot of people, especially those who get the injection as an adult. They're so used to their body telling them when they've had enough, that when they don't get those signals anymore, they just keep going."

"I guess that's good for the empire."

"Well, people are more productive when they aren't in pain, that's true," he said thoughtfully. She'd been grateful that he'd been about to explain it, and knowing that was she felt was normal helped to take some of the weight off her shoulders.

Rey was shaken from her reverie when Maelin spoke. "It's slowed down in here, Rey. You two want to head back?"

She looked up and met her boss's gaze. He was still concerned for her, she could tell, so she did her best to perk up. "Actually, I was thinking he and I could go out to the market and practice drawing some people from life—people besides me."

She'd allowed Caladon to draw her and she'd sat still for him as he did he best to sketch her out. The only problem with such a thing was that now, Maelin's office was full of sketches of Rey and not much else. Caladon's crush had become more than a tad obvious though no one ever said anything about it.

Maelin seemed relieved. "Someone besides you would be good."

She shot him a humorous smile before walking back to the back room. Caladon had already started setting his pencils and paper up in anticipation of sketching Rey again, but she stopped him.

"I thought we'd try something else today," she said.

The boy looked up. "What do you mean?"

"We're going to go out and you're going to try and draw someone else besides me."

"But I like drawing you," Caladon said, but he gathered his thing anyway.

"Yes, but there are a million other sentients out there and don't you want to be able to draw and perhaps paint them?"

"Like your paintings?" he asked.

She smiled and nodded. "Yes, just like my paintings."

Rey helped him to carry the paper out of the bar and they walked together down the street. There were people and sentients everywhere and she waved at the few that she knew. De'Pruren wasn't a big city and many people knew some of her story and nodded her way. Rey had never been one to 'fit in' anywhere but she'd somehow managed to make herself a decent life in the tiny desert town on a backwater rim world.

They headed towards the Imperial Remote Office. It was the largest building in the city and the unofficial center of town. There were businesses and restaurants around it and it had the widest variety of people. There wasn't any real place to sit so she brought them over to one of the cafes that had small tables and chairs out front.

She didn't even look at the menu before ordering a couple of bantha milkshakes. The waitress, a lithe devaronian girl, took the order briskly and walked off leaving her with Caladon again.

"What should I draw?" he asked after they'd been sitting for awhile.

"Whatever you want. Try something different though," she said, pulling her own sheet of paper back along with a clipboard.

"That guy is so mog," Caladon said, pointing towards a man who seemed to have just landed on Ord Canfre. He carried a bag and looked rather frazzled, absently dabbing his skin with a white piece of cloth as sweat gathered.

 _He was a chagrian,_ she realized. Tall, with horns jutting out from fleshy protrusions on either side of his head as well as up from his skull. _His was an amphibious species,_ she remembered, _but what was he doing here on a desert planet?_ The man quickly entered one of the restaurants, presumably to get out of the heat and perhaps replenish his moisture reserves, but they could still see him clearly through the restaurant's viewport.

She looked over to find Caladon furiously scribbling on his paper and she smiled, looking around the busy street herself. Most people were going about their business, but there were still plenty of sentients with their eyes glued to the Holonet projector.

"Can you believe he took his mask off?" someone asked from behind her.

"I know! And no sith eyes! Those resistance fighters are getting desperate, obviously. Kylo Ren would never give in to the Sith."

"And the light exemplar—dead at the hands of the general—"

Rey didn't know what possessed her to turn in her seat and face the two human women who were gossiping behind her.

"What happened to the exemplar?" she asked and the two women looked up in surprise.

"Weren't you watching?" one of them asked.

She shook her head. "Ah no, I was in the middle of a work shift."

They blinked and one of them pointed towards the holonet projection. "They're about to show the clip again."

Rey swallowed but turned anyway to watch.

The Supreme Ruler's face was already uncovered and he looked quite bored with the proceedings, but then he spoke. "I know it was assumed that I donned my mask to hide a scar from the war, but that is not now, nor was it ever, the case. It is true that I am the dark exemplar, and as many of you know, I have been searching for the light exemplar for quite a long time. Leia Organa claimed that I had not risen past my origins and that I had gone without the exemplar for too long.

"What she neglected to disclose is what happened to the last light exemplar. Jerah was my friend and would have been a great man had he been allowed to live. After discovering during our childhood that I was the dark exemplar, Leia Organa and her supporters attacked the school I was attending with one purpose: to murder me."

He paused for effect and even now after everyone had already seen it, the sentients who sat around her, still gasped.

"She failed in her attempt to assassinate me, but instead killed Jerah, the light exemplar, by mistake. That was over five hundred years ago and I've been alone ever since. I keep the darkness at bay and every day is a struggle—I do not deny that, but as you can see, her attempts to destroy me—destroy our empire—have failed once more."

 _The Resistance general had killed the last light exemplar?_

This was only Kylo Ren's side of the story, of course, but the general herself had been the one to hijack the holonet and apparently start something she was unable to finish. She must have truly believed that Ren had those 'Sith eyes', whatever they were, and had bet everything on the Supreme Ruler either revealing it to be so or not removing his mask, which was an answer in and of itself. The whole thing was way too complicated and if Rey was being honest, she really didn't give a shit about Kylo Ren and his insurgency problems. The Earth girl had bigger fish to fry.

"What do you think Rey?" Caladon asked as he turned his pad and revealed his drawing.

It was the chagrian, done in Caladon's usual style of making his creations longer and thinner than they were in real life. She encouraged his stylization, and the sentient looked quite a bit more beastly with long spindly fingers and his horns that curled rather than standing straight up.

"I like it," she said and the boy beamed proudly.

They continued to sit there a bit longer and Caladon tried drawing other people while they sipped on their milkshakes—she still hadn't gotten used to the blue milk. After an hour they left the little cafe and headed back to the bar.

The place was quiet during that time of day, still too early for those getting off work to drop by and there was time for Caladon to show Maelin his drawings.

"You're getting better and better, Caladon," Maelin said as he looked over the newest drawings.

"I like this . . ." He waved his hand over the drawing, emphasizing the length of it and Rey smiled.

"That's his personal stylization. It's what makes him unique as an artist," she said and Maelin nodded in hesitant understanding. When she'd first begun teaching Caladon, she'd gotten the impression that Maelin expected his son's art to be identical to her's and perhaps have a more photorealistic quality to it.

But that just wasn't how Caladon saw the world—or galaxy. He saw the curvatures and swirling designs of life in a way that reminded her almost of an art nouveau style, but less . . . romantic, without the perfect symmetry and smooth lines.

"You finally quit your job at the factory?" Maelin asked as Caladon packed his things up again to head home. Tomorrow was the day of rest and normally Rey would have worked at the textile factory, but since she'd started selling her paintings, she'd had to quit to keep up with her agreement with Waldreg. She was also making a bit more as a painter now than she did as a dyer.

Rey nodded as she watched Caladon walk off with his sketches. "Yeah, last week was my last day," she said.

"I know I gave you a hard time over the smell, but it _was_ a steady paycheck."

She shrugged. "If painting doesn't work out I can always get another job, but for now—I know I haven't been getting enough sleep the last few weeks. I think I need a break."

It was hard to tell with the nanites, but four hours per night could not be healthy. The days bled together for her, and she was thankful that her phone still worked. It was set to remind her every day to draw out another hashmark. This morning had been the hundred and seventy-second mark. Nearly six months.

Rey still listened to her voicemail messages from Poe and James and even sometimes from her ex-boss reminding her about her deadlines. She did wonder sometimes what they thought might have happened to her—what they would think when Kylo Ren showed up again looking for another girl.

Sometimes she wondered which of the other girls was the real exemplar—if it was really the girl in the white coat or perhaps one of the others? Was it someone who hadn't even been there? Hopefully, the next girl would have a better go of it than Rey had.

She sighed as she was shaken from her thoughts by the light and blast of warm air that came into the tiny bar when the front door opened. Maelin was further back wiping down tables so Rey looked up to greet the new comer.

"Welcome to Drink Night," she said easily, though she was a bit taken aback by the newcomer. It was the chagrian from the market center. What was he doing all the way over here? Maelin's bar was on the outskirts of town and frequented by the locals rather than the transient pilots and smugglers who stopped for fuel at the landing port.

The sentient barely spared her a glance as he walked towards a small table set opposite the bar. He paused to look at the painting of Maelin before seating himself primly and Rey raised a brow and shared a look with her boss. The twi'lek shrugged and she shook her head as she grabbed an order pad and walked over. Normally, the regulars stopped at the bar and got their drinks before sitting, and then she just kept them coming. This sentient expected full service in a hole-in-the-wall dive bar.

Rey would have laughed, but really, this was far from the strangest thing that she'd seen so she walked over and stood beside him.

"What can I get for you?" she asked with a smile.

The blue alien didn't even look at her. "The name and address of the artist who painted these," he said gesturing to the hanging canvases on the walls.

Maelin, who had moved closer, possibly in the event of trouble with this unfamiliar sentient, looked her way with a raised hairless brow. He continued to wipe down tables but his ear was practically twitching as he eavesdropped.

She tilted her head. "Oh? And why would you want that information?"

The chagrian finally looked at her. "My dear girl, I'm sure that's none of your business."

Maelin snorted from where he was bent over the next table over. "Well considering she painted them, it might be," he said with a laugh before walking off.

The chagrian's entire body shifted so he could look her over entirely. "You're human," he stated with some surprise.

She pursed her lips and crossed her arms. "Noticed that, did you?"

He looked properly chastised for a few seconds before his eyes darted around the establishment. "Are you working to further your art?"

She blinked at the man for a second. "If by furthering you mean paying my rent and making enough to eat, then yes."

The sentient was clearly confused and his pulled out a datapad. "Did you not paint this work?" He tapped a few things before handing it over to reveal an image. She instantly recognized it as the Phoenix that she painted about two months ago. "Yes, what about it?"

He didn't seem to understand her nonchalance. "This work just sold for almost 2000 credits."

The datapad slipped from Rey's hand and landed on the floor with a clatter. "Did you just say _2000 credits_? There has to be some mistake."

The chagrian bent over to retrieve his pad. "Works by the Artist have been fetching thousands on the market since debuting four months ago. The previous series sold for more but those were much larger than your latest ones."

"Th—Thousands?"

He looked concerned at the shock on her face. "Surely you were aware that your work is fetching these prices."

 _Of course she wasn't._ She wouldn't be living in a tiny apartment and making her art in the backroom of a bar if she'd been aware. Rey clenched her jaw. "No . . . I make about fifty credits per piece when I sell them to the shop owner next door."

The man's jaw dropped. "Fifty? My dear girl. Your work is being celebrated in the art community as a revival of classical techniques."

Rey shook her head. "They're just paintings. They're everywhere on my planet."

The chagrian seemed confused. "Surely you are aware . . ." he trailed off and Rey was certain there was something she was missing.

She sighed. "I'm not from around here. My planet is in the uncharted zone."

He blinked and she could tell he clearly hadn't expected that answer. "How did you end up here?"

Rey's face flattened. "That is a really long story and you and I need to be on at least first name terms before I go into that."

The man hurriedly sputtered out, "Oh! My apologies. I am Gilas Her'le, I represent an artistic commune."

She didn't put her hand out for a shake as she'd have done in the beginning. "Reyna Gillespie, but people call me Rey. Why exactly are you here looking for me?"

"The commune that I represent is interested in adding your talents to our collective."

Rey shot him a bewildered look and he hurried to explain. "It's not nearly as strange as it sounds. Our group live together in our own small village of artists and we work on our art together."

The Earth girl had flashes of the hippy crunchy granola communes on Earth. "How exactly does that work?" she asked suspiciously.

Gilas looked like he'd been waiting for her to ask that very question and he hurriedly tapped on his pad again, bringing up images like some kind of travel brochure. "Well, our group began around four hundred years ago as a way to keep the art pure with low stress and creative exchange between artists. I work as the primary broker and keep a gallery that hosts the art. I sell the pieces on behalf of the artists in order to get the highest possible sale price. And for those whose art does not require that, I match clients with the artist. We have a fashion designer that is now one of the most prominent designers in the galaxy because she joined the commune. She dresses the most beautiful and powerful women and men in the empire."

"And what do you get out of it?" Rey asked eyeing the man's rich clothing.

He didn't seem offended. "For each piece sold, I receive twenty five percent, the commune itself receives twenty five percent and the artist receives fifty percent of all sale prices. The members of the commune vote and decide how the funds are allotted. Building new structures, paying landscapers, etc. In exchange you live at the commune for free and—if I may say so—after hearing what you're making at the moment, you'll definitely benefit from joining us."

She swallowed, looking down at the images on the pad. "This seems . . ."

"Too good to be true?"

Rey tilted her head. "Somewhat, yes."

Gilas seemed quite understanding. "I will admit, this is not an offer that is extended often. We are a small group and we do not accept members on a regular basis. Another artist has to leave before we accept a new one. You've made quite the splash and no other artist in the commune does anything quite like what you do."

Rey thought back over what she'd observed since she'd left Earth. "It seems not many people do."

The sentient smiled. "I see you've noticed that, even here. Your type of art, stylized and yet realistic depictions of people and creatures . . . Well, it's an art that isn't practiced much anymore. Most people have holo projectors to display images. That type of art, especially using something such as paint, fell out of fashion hundreds of years ago as something dated and antiquated. Much of the skill was lost because no one teaches it, either."

"But now people like it?" she asked, still baffled by the very notion.

Gilas nodded. "Well, no one has seen anything quite like it for some time. Some paintings do still exist from long ago, however they are closely guarded in private collections. Yours are some of the first to hit the open market is hundreds of years. And done in such vibrant colors, they have become popular quickly."

"I see," she said after a moment.

He took her hand into his own. "Dear, I'm not sure that you do. You need to establish yourself quickly or copycats and forgers will begin to undercut your profits if they can. A few fakes have already sprouted up."

"Profits," she echoed. Rey had never really seen herself as someone consumed with the idea of 'profit', however her situation on Ord Canfre was vastly different from anything she'd experienced before. Every credit taken by someone selling knock-offs of her work was a credit less that she could save towards buying her ship.

"What do I do?" she asked, more than a little bewildered by the entire conversation.

He got up and looked down at her. "We don't have very much information available to the public for security reasons, but that datapad will tell you all about our group. Keep it and take an evening to think about it. I am staying on planet for a few days. Let me know your decision either way. My contact information is also on the pad."

She looked at the pad for a second. She could leave the planet . . . But a thought occurred to her. "I—I don't have imperial citizenship."

Gilas shrugged. "I suppose that is to be expected seeing as you are from the uncharted zone. But you do have the translation nanites in your system at least. I assume you have the spectrum injection as well."

"I do."

He seemed satisfied and he nodded. "Good, well that is half the journey already. The empire likes to collect taxes so they will assuredly grant you at least a transient citizenship. We can apply for it through the commune, if you are amenable."

Becoming a citizen was something Rey was still unsure about. However, it would make travel easier in the long run.

"Thank you. You've given me a lot to think about," she said, clutching at the datapad like it was a life raft.

He clapped her on the shoulder. "Not at all. Please contact me when you have reached a decision."

"I will."

With that, Gilas had nodded to her and left.

* * *

Pretty much the entirety of the last chapter along with most of this chapter is brand new content that I just added. What happened to Jerah was actually not supposed to be revealed until way later, but I figured that revealing that little tidbit would be an excellent way to further discredit the Resistance. Still, later Kylo will still have the opportunity to express his emotions and thoughts on what happened, so I figured it was a plot sacrifice that I could make.

Hope you guys are all still enjoying this! :)


	14. Chapter 14

"I don't think you should go, Rey," '87 said, his voice low as he leaned in towards her. "You don't know this guy. He could be a serial killer or something."

Her bags were already packed and her paintings and supplies stowed aboard the ship. Rey looked at the vessel before steadily meeting '87's eyes and lying through her teeth. "I checked into his credentials through Waldreg. He's the real deal," she said—and she _had_ checked. What little information that could be verified did check out, but it would never be enough to assuage 2187's protective streak, and if he thought for a second that she wouldn't be safe, he would probably lock her in a cell at the remote office until Gilas left.

The 'trooper shook his head in agitation. "He might be a real art dealer but that doesn't make him _not_ a terrible person who snatches girls on the side," 2187 said tightly.

It was something she'd thought about but Rey couldn't let herself not take the chance. "If I don't, I'll be stuck here forever," she said.

'87 swallowed and she knew his feeling were hurt, but he plowed on anyway. "It won't be forever. I'll eventually be able to get you an ident chip and when I get discharged we can leave. I'll be able to protect you. You made a decent life for yourself here. Just wait a little longer."

Rey shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. I promised myself I'd make it home. If I leave, I have a better chance of selling more art and making enough to buy a ship. I'll learn to pilot it and then I'm going looking for Earth."

2187 looked almost mutinous. "I told you before, you could look for years in the uncharted zone and not find your planet."

" _Then I'll look for years,"_ she said heatedly but at his dejected look, she deflated. "I'm sorry, I can't stay here. Every day I look at the sand and yellow sky, I'm reminded that I was left here like garbage. Just dumped out of a chute by a man who felt he had the right to snatch me up and then drop me when he was done."

"He _does,"_ '87 said desperately, "He does have the right. He's the _Supreme Ruler._ He can do whatever he wants. That won't change no matter where you go."

She grimaced. "Yeah, but I'd rather not spend the rest of my days on this miserable planet."

The stormtrooper sighed and _she_ could almost feel _his_ heart breaking. "I thought . . ." he began quietly, but she drew him into a hug before he could finish.

Rey kept her voice low and tried to keep her own emotions in check as she whispered. "I don't mean you or anyone else here, '87, but I want to go home. This isn't my home." She continued to hug her friend tightly, endlessly grateful to him for his kindness while she'd been on Ord Canfre. "I'll come back and visit if I can," she whispered and he nodded as they pulled away.

"Comm me when you get there, Rey," Breeka said and Rey nodded quickly

"Thank you for everything," she said as she gave the rodian, Maelin and Caladon their own hugs—much to Maelin's confusion at the gesture.

The twi'lek nodded anyway, though. "Good Luck, Rey. We'll definitely miss having you around," Maelin said sadly.

"This won't be the last you see of me," she said with a smile and hugged them all.

Caladon sniffled a bit but managed a watery farewell as she boarded the ship.

The journey was only a day or so through space and she spent it casting furtive glances at Gilas and eyeing the ever changing star map on the wall that showed their location. After they'd left, Gilas had told her their destination: Takodana. It was a jungle planet, according to her pad, with no native sentients. She'd made sure to keep an eye on their location as they moved through the mid rim and into the western reaches.

The journey had been quiet, as Rey wasn't entirely sure what to say, but about halfway through, she finally spoke up. "I tried to look you up. Your commune, I mean. But there's no record of you in the imperial database." She'd kept that from 2187, and even now she was not entirely sure what that meant. How did they pay taxes?

Gilas looked up from the pad he was reading but didn't seem bothered by the statement. "There wouldn't be," he said, "We keep our commune well off the net."

She'd figured that out. Security was obviously very important to Gilas and probably to the artists he represented as well, but what she didn't know what why. "Why is it so secretive?" she asked.

The chagrian looked away for a second, as though recalling a painful memory before he responded. "It wasn't always like this. When the commune first began we were on a beautiful planet called Falleen. Our group was smaller with only fifteen artists doing various types of works." He paused and Rey watched as the muscles in his jaw clenched a bit. "Around twenty years in, one of our artists, Valin Breme, a carver who created the most beautifully intricate figurines you've ever seen, began receiving threats. We weren't so exclusive back then, you see, and anyone could come into our public establishment and see the artworks. Valin had a . . . fan."

Gilas trailed off again, and Rey could tell it was a difficult story to relive but the chagrian continued, "The man was obsessed with Valin's work and bankrupted himself and his family buying as many of Valin's pieces as he could. When he ran out of money and he couldn't buy any more, he decided to track down the commune and go to Valin himself." Gilas stopped once more to take a breath. "No one knows exactly what happened but Valin was killed and the man killed himself afterwards."

"So you moved to another planet and disappeared," she said with a nod of understanding.

The chagrian gave a small insincere smile. "Yes. Only very well vetted and selected clients even know the location of the gallery showroom on Coruscant. We've never had another incident with unwanted visitors again."

It was obviously something that Gilas still felt deeply about, and Rey nodded as she sat back to think over what he'd said. It would be hard to keep such a secret from 2187 but the secrecy and security of the commune seemed to take precedence over most anything else—at least to Gilas—so she would adhere to their rules.

The journey was quiet once more and Rey slept for a good chunk of the remaining hours, too tired to stay awake the full day it would take to get there. The ship shook the slightest bit, waking her, as they came in for a landing. Rey jerked in her seat in abject fear, a low whimper escaping her as her nails bit into the seat. Gilas reached over and covered her hand.

"Are you alright, my dear?"

She swallowed as the ship continued to shake but nodded. "Just um . . . my last . . . _landing_ didn't go so well," she said finally.

Gilas didn't seem to know what to do with that information or how to interpret her fear, so he just continued to hold her hand until the ship finally stopped moving, and then everything was still. Rey continued to take deep breaths as she struggled to get herself under control

 _This isn't the same as what happened before,_ she told herself. _You're safe, and now he'll_ never _find you._

Rey was not afraid to admit that she was terrified of the prospect of ever seeing Kylo Ren again. Those burning eyes _hating_ her, and wishing gleefully for her slow and painful death. The secrecy of the commune appealed to her on an almost cellular level. She knew that the likelihood of Kylo Ren ever returning to Ord Canfre had been next to nothing, but even so, she was glad to be even further off his radar. She could hide on Takodana and wait until she could afford her ship. Perhaps it was cowardly, but Rey was, before everything else, a survivor.

Her eyes were still clenched when Gilas patted her fingers. "We're here, Rey."

She took a slow breath and cracked an eye open. The chagrian had already gotten up from his seat and he was pulling the viewport shielding aside so she could see that they had, in fact, landed. Gilas had described the planet to her and he'd said it was a lush planet but . . .

"It's so green," she said as she got up and all but plastered her face to the viewport. Perhaps it was only that she'd been on Ord Canfre with its eggshell and mustard color pallet for so long, that so much _color_ was nearly overwhelming her.

Gilas chuckled behind her. "Yes, being so close to nature can be very inspiring so we settled here on Takodana about two hundred years ago."

Rey heard the hiss of the hatch as it opened behind her and she sighed. _Here we go,_ she thought as she turned around and picked up her small bag of personal belongings. They walked out of the ship and into the sunlight. It was hot here, just like Ord Canfre, but rather than the dry arid heat of a desert, there was a dampness that clung to her skin. She looked around, but there wasn't much to see on the landing pad besides other ships and a large ancient looking structure in the distance.

Gilas already seemed more comfortable in the humidity of the planet, and his step was a bit lighter than before. The rest of her things were already being loaded into a land speeder and Gilas was gesturing for her to come.

Rey pointed towards the building. "Is that where we're headed?" she asked.

Gilas followed her line of sight before shaking his head. "Oh that? No. That's Maz Kanata's palace. She runs a bar out of it now, but she's been around a long time. We just use her landing pad. I don't like to disturb the artists with loud ships coming and going so we're taking a speeder to the commune. It's about thirty minutes away."

She nodded and was about to say something else when Gilas abruptly turned from her. "Careful with that!" he said as a crewman began stacking her paintings in the back of the speeder. They were all wrapped for a bit of protection, but if one fell out of the moving vessel, that would be it.

The man was trying to be careful, she could tell, but the wind picked up suddenly and a blew one of the canvases off the pile before he could strap them down. Gilas looked like he was going to have a heart attack, _but really,_ Rey thought as she walked over and picked up the fallen image, _it was her least favorite._

"Rey!" Gilas called as he came up behind her. She turned and watched as Gilas' normally rather friendly expression melted into something . . . else. It was only for a second, and it passed so quickly that Rey was unsure if she'd even seen it. He didn't say anything else as he walked with her and she re-wrapped the painting before handing it to the crewman who promptly secured it in place.

Gilas was quiet during the trek to the commune. Something about him was off, she could tell. He hadn't liked her painting, which Rey could safely admit, she wasn't so fond of it either. Still, though, even with the slightly tense atmosphere, the journey was beautiful with green for as far as she could see and clear blue waterways running through it like vines in a forest.

The trip seemed too short, and Rey would have loved to see more of the planet, but she was also still exhausted from the traveling. Gilas helped her down from the speeder and she could see a path leading from the tiny landing pad into the forest.

The chagrian seemed to have shaken off whatever had dampened his mood before because he smiled and held a hand out to her, "Come, my dear, I'll introduce you to some of the other residents. Not all of them will be around now but the ones who live closer to you will no doubt be eager to make your acquaintance."

'Eager' seemed a bit of a stretch, especially when she could see a few of the other residents watching from a distance but making no move to come and meet her. They seemed to be perfectly content to watch and some even simply turned away and went back to whatever they were doing.

"Yes, I can see that," she said in answer.

Gilas snorted. "The commune voted on whether to pursue you for admission. It was an overwhelming majority. It's only that . . ."

"What?"

"Well, we don't get very many humans here," he explained as they walked along the path.

Gilas had been surprised to see her, Rey remembered, surprised that she was human. "Really? Why?"

The chagrian looked slightly uncomfortable but he spoke anyway. "Humans are actually our biggest customers and they make up the vast majority of the empire, something like seventy percent of all sentients are human."

Her eyes widened. Was humanity really that widespread? On Ord Canfre, it had been more fifty/fifty. How were there so many humans? Why was Earth so isolated from the rest?

Gilas continued speaking, taking her silence for acceptance. "It's interesting but humans as a whole don't usually buy human-made art. If they can afford to commission pieces and import their style and design, they prefer artisans and crafts from other races. It's a symbol of wealth."

Rey blinked. That didn't sound good. "Oh. When it's discovered that I'm human, will the value of my work drop?"

The chagrian pursed his lips. "Well, I intend to keep you quite mysterious for the time being," Gilas said diplomatically, "We're going to work on making sure you are fully established before you go public. As of now, you're simply known as 'The Artist' because no one could identify your mark on the paintings."

She'd just signed RG in a stylized way. Apparently it was a bit _too_ stylized for the nanites to translate.

Still, Gilas tried to be supportive. "You are a unique person amongst the art community. No one will ever disparage you here but be cautious when you leave the commune. Sometimes people can be less than kind when they think there is competition for clients."

She nodded and they eventually entered the main area of the commune. It was almost exactly as Rey had envisioned when Gilas had described it. Lush, and somewhat overgrown with studios and homes of varying styles dotted around the landscape.

"Artist!" a feminine voice called and Rey looked up to see a purple twi'lek girl hurrying down a path towards them. The building she was coming from was a massive white structure that sort of reminded Rey of a conch shell.

The twi'lek wore a fluttery white dress that moved like water around her and as she neared, Rey suddenly felt more than a little bedraggled in her stained and faded work clothes from Ord Canfre.

The girl didn't seem to notice as she sidled up beside Rey and she smiled, "You're finally here!"

Rey blinked. "Uh, yes?"

Gilas sighed. "This is Kord Mondrachia, your possible neigh—"

Kord cut him off, her bright eyes meeting Rey's. "Of course, I'll be your neighbor. Where else is she doing to live? Out in the jungle by herself like the other shut-ins?"

Gilas looked less than impressed, "What each person chooses—"

"Yes, yes, I know. Still . . ." Kord trailed off and looked at Rey questioningly, and it took her a second to figure out that she was supposed to say something.

"My name is Rey—"

" _Rey_ here will be just fine in the center."

Gilas finally looked at Rey and she could tell that she just needed to indicate that she was uncomfortable and he would put a stop to the whole thing, but really, she didn't actually _want_ to be alone in the jungle anyway.

"I'd like to stay around here," she said finally and Kord made a pleased noise while Gilas looked somewhat pained.

"Mog," the twi'lek said before pulling Rey away from Gilas, "You can live next door to me." she paused before calling back towards the chagrian. "Bring her things to the blue house!"

Gilas made no response but Kord seemed happy enough dragging Rey towards the plot of land on the other side of her own massive home. The house was quite a bit smaller and completely different in design from Kord's seashell house.

"I'm sorry if I startled you, Rey. In my line of work, big personalities are what sell," Kord said as she looped her arm around Rey's and the two walked up the path towards the house. It was blue, as was indicated by the moniker, 'blue house' and reminded Rey of a sort of overgrown beach cottage, though it was a round building rather than square.

She pushed the door open and looked around the dim space. It was a bit musty inside so she left the door open to at least attempt to air the place out. The front half of the lower level opened up into what she thought would be a lovely studio space with fully duraplast doors.

Rey looked around for a light switch before remembering herself. "Lights on," she said and the place instantly illuminated. It was an almost rough dwelling but had the type of character that humans on Earth spent a fortune recreating.

Kord pointed off toward a set of narrow stairs. "The bedroom and second 'fresher are up there and your kitchen and dining are in the back." The main living area would be used as her studio and she thought that had been the intention of the original builder anyway. It was almost what she would consider a sunroom but rather than just windows, most of the outer wall was covered in duraplast doors instead, letting in a ton of natural light.

"It's beautiful," she said and Kord smiled.

The twi'lek looked around fondly. "I always thought so. This was my first house here, as well. A lot of great artists have come through this home. It was one of the first built when the commune moved here."

For being two hundred years old, it seemed in pretty solid shape, at least to Rey, but then who knew what the home was actually built from.

"Gilas will have someone down here in a couple of days cutting back the brush," Kord said, eyeing the vines that had begun to grow up one of the doors.

"I'll take care of the gardening," Rey said as she looked over the thicket of plants. There were a few flowers buried beneath the weeds, and she had enjoyed gardening back on Earth.

But Kord shook her head seriously. "Let someone else take care of clearing out the plants, Rey. There are several species of poisonous flora on Takodana. You don't want to get sick before you sell your first painting."

Rey blinked. She hadn't thought of that, but the twi'lek was right; best to let someone more knowledgeable have a go at the overgrown foliage. She could come back with flowers later. She was about to respond when she spotted a couple of men coming down the path towards the house carrying her things. Kord promptly began helping her unpack, more curious to see her things than to actually help Rey, she thought.

"Please tell me these aren't the only clothes you brought, Rey," Kord said after going through the one and only bag containing any kind of clothing.

"What else would I wear? I just paint," she said in exasperation. "I don't exactly need super nice things."

Kord looked at her for a long moment before she began to laugh, "Just paint! That's a good one! You know I have one of your pieces in my home. I simply had to have one after one of my clients was crowing about it at one of his soirees."

Rey hadn't let herself quite buy into the hype that Gilas was trying to sell her before—about her art being something special or even good enough to warrant a spot at this commune.

"You have one?" she asked hesitantly.

Kord nodded "Of course, I was the one who recommended you for the commune. I have one of your Lovers hanging in my sitting room."

"Oh . . ." Rey said, a touch of wonderment in her voice.

"'Oh' is right. We need to get some nicer things for you to meet your clients in."

 _Clients?_ That hadn't been in her game plan. "But Gilas—"

Kord cut her off with a wave of her hand. "He'll keep you under wraps for a little while but you can't hide out here forever. You need facetime so your customers have a face to associate the talent with. Thankfully, this will also give us enough time to get a bit more meat on your bones."

With the exception of crispics and twispas, the food on Ord Canfre had been quite bland and not terribly appetizing. And with the nanites, she'd found that she just wasn't as hungry. Rey was aware that she'd lost weight, her cheeks not quite as full as they'd been on Earth, but she hoped she didn't look too underweight.

The twi'lek sighed. "Don't get that look on your face. You're still beautiful. We just need to maybe take a trip to a few resort planets where you can meet clients and get some decent food." She paused with a raised hairless brow. "Maybe a facial peel or two as well."

Rey reached up and touched her face, but she wasn't able to give Kord's words much more thought as the last of her things was placed in the sunroom. Rey thanked the two men who had carried it all. Her paintings and supplies weren't exactly light or easy to carry.

She crouched down and began to unwrap one of the paintings—one of 2187 with his fellow squad-mates. "I don't know if I'm ready for all that," she said finally.

Kord unwrapped a painting of her own. "Of course you are," she said as she gave Rey a knowing look. "I know the eyes of someone who wants to be anywhere but where they are."

Rey walked up and resisted the urge to rub her fingers over the painting that Kord was holding. Poe smiled bashfully in his flight suit while covered in grease. "I just want to get home."

The indigo twi'lek seemed to sense the change in atmosphere, because she put her hand on Rey's arm and met her eyes. "And you will. But you're not from around here are you?"

She snorted. "Am I that obvious?"

"Not so much, but it's my job to read body language. Outer Rim?"

Rey shook her head. "The uncharted zone. My planet is somewhere in the uncharted zone."

Kord nodded thoughtfully. "You'll need to know about the galaxy itself before venturing off into the unknown. It can be quite dangerous out there, even within imperial space. You aren't a citizen?"

"No."

The twi'lek didn't seem surprised. "Gilas is probably already working on getting you a transient ident so you can pass through the empire unaccosted."

The idea of being able to go wherever she wanted . . . she'd never let herself even really contemplate it, but maybe it wouldn't be so bad. The Supreme Ruler and his fleet were sort of hard to miss and it was a big galaxy, after all. "I could actually go to other planets?"

Getting on a ship had never been the issue, getting off and arriving at what passed for 'customs' was the problem. She would be arrested and held without some kind of ID.

Kord unwrapped another painting. "After we get your ident squared away, you'll be able to come and go freely. We just need to show residency within the empire and that you are generating some kind of income. Eventually, you'll be able to apply for permanent citizenship."

Rey hoped she wasn't around there long enough to do that but she'd cross that bridge when she came to it. The continued to unwrap her paintings and put away her supplies, but after a few minutes, Kord stopped, her eyes glued to a piece that she held almost delicately before her.

Rey could see the edges—could see the color bleeding off and knew which one it was. She really needed to get rid of that thing—especially now that he'd unmasked himself.

Her nightmare man, as Caladon had called him.

The twi'lek was silent for a beat. "You must not like him very much," she said finally before setting the painting down on the floor against the wall.

"What?" Rey asked, her voice slightly strangled.

Kord continued looking it over. "The Supreme Ruler. He's a handsome man and he almost is here but the way you've painted him . . . He's . . . painful to look at."

"I—I wouldn't know," she said turning back to her pigments.

Kord apparently decided it was better to drop it because her tone lightened and she changed the subject. "I'm going off-planet next week to choose fabrics for my next collection. Would you like to join me?"

Rey blinked. "I can't go anywhere."

The twi'lek wasn't to be deterred. "Oh, We're just rendezvousing with a merchant ship that's passing through a few systems from here. No imperial dock checks to worry about because they're only open to professionals like you and me. Until you get your ident, I'll vouch for you. "

She also needed fabric, but not for clothes. "Would the place you're going to have canvas materials?"

Kord nodded. "Oh they have every kind of fabric."

Rey finally looked at Kord—really looked at her. She was incredibly beautiful with bright indigo skin that was set off perfectly by the white dress she wore. It fit her perfectly, clinging to every curve of her body and it fluttered as she moved, giving her an ethereal quality.

"What is it that you do, Kord?"

The twi'lek tilted her head and smiled. "I make clothes."

Ah! So Kord was the fashion designer that Gilas had mentioned before. "I guess you're pretty good at that," she said finally.

Kord paused and her eyes moved over Rey in what might have been an almost clinical way, except for the way she lingered on certain parts of Rey's body. "I think so. You'll have to let me . . . _fit_ you later."

Rey swallowed and nodded. "That would be great, thank you."

Kord raised a brow. "Think nothing of it. This place is full of old fuddy duddy artisans. You and me gotta stick together or we'll fossilize like they have."

Rey snorted and laughed.

* * *

Almost 50K words later, she's finally off Ord Canfre . . . And won't someone be surprised to find her NOT where he left her.


	15. Chapter 15

Rey inspected the new shipment of pigments and mediums with a smile. They were even better in quality than the stuff she'd gotten from Waldreg, and after speaking to one of the other artisans in the commune, she now even had a few actual paint brushes.

"Does everything look alright?" Gilas asked as he sat with Kord off to the side.

The twi'lek was around quite a bit and seemed to take a quiet pleasure from watching Rey paint. She didn't speak much while Rey worked, more that content to work on her own designs in silence or perhaps pose for some of Rey's other works. It had been over a month since Rey had arrived on Takodana and so far things were going well for her. She'd completed six paintings since arriving and Gilas would be taking them to his gallery today. They were wrapped and packed onto a hovercart.

Her visions, however . . . they'd gotten worse.

When she'd been on Ord Canfre, they typically only happened once or twice a month and only when she was deeply relaxed. Working on Takodana—focusing on her art and spending time with someone as laid-back as Kord—well she was fairly relaxed most of the time and it seemed like the visions were trying to make up for lost time.

The last one . . . she'd been in the middle of showing Kord how to sketch her fashion designs on paper using charcoal and watered down pigments when it had hit her like a bus. She'd frozen as memories washed over her of a man being stabbed to death by a masked fighter with a red blade. Kord had been frantic by the time Rey came out of the vision and she'd all but collapsed against her friend.

"Rey, are you alright?" the twi'lek had asked, her hands cupping either side of Rey's face as the human blinked back into reality.

Her hand had come up to clutch at Kord's arm, anchoring her. "I'm . . . I'm sorry," she'd said. "I'm fine. It's—It's nothing."

Kord slowly released her, but her gaze was searching. "This—this has happened to you before, hasn't it?"

Rey seated herself on the sofa as the other woman poured her a cup of caf. She looked at the twi'lek before sighing. "Yes. It's—It happens a lot."

Kord handed her the cup. "You're Force-sensitive," she said with a tilt of her head.

Rey nodded. "I get visions every once in awhile. They're what I paint."

The twi'lek's brows came up and she pursed her lips in thought. "That explains the lightsabers."

Rey blinked and looked at the painting she'd been working on. Two women, one lower to the ground wielding a staff with red ends while the other carried twin blade of pale purple.

" . . . Lightsabers?" she asked hesitantly.

Kord looked at her sadly and Rey knew the other woman pitied her—not in critical way, but that Rey had been placed into a situation that she was woefully unprepared to deal with. "You didn't know what they were called?" Kord finally asked.

"No—I . . . I never knew their name," she said as her gazed traced the lines of the _lightsabers_ in the painting—their glow the only illumination in the darkness surrounding the two women. "Lightsaber," she said, feeling the word roll around in her mind. They were important to the people whom she painted—to Kylo Ren . . . and perhaps even herself on day.

 _No!_ She quickly shook that thought off. She had no interest in acquiring something like that. What would she do with a laser sword, anyway?

"I just wish they'd stop," she had said tiredly.

Kord had looked thoughtful for a moment before speaking. "Maybe you need to go talk to Maz Kanata."

The name was familiar. "The bar owner?"

The twi'lek nodded. "Yes, she's um . . . special like you are. Maybe she can help you."

Rey hadn't acted on the information then or even in the week that followed, but she was getting sick and tired of whatever it was that was happening to her.

"They're perfect," she said to Gilas as her thoughts and attention turned back to the present. The chagrian looked suitably pleased and Kord watched her thoughtfully.

Gilas nodded. "I'm glad that they're up to your standards. They were hard to locate, but now that we have a supplier the cost will be less the next time we make an order."

She smiled and thanked him with a small bow as was usual for his species. Gilas returned it with a bow of his own and turned to leave with the hovercart.

Rey spoke up before he made it to the door, "Do you mind if I borrow one of the speeders?"

Gilas looked somewhat taken aback and his head tilted in confusion. "Do you need to go somewhere?"

"I wanted to visit Maz Kanata's bar. Inspiration and all that," she said casually. Kord eyed her critically from over the rim of her teacup but said nothing.

Gilas pursed his lips. "Do you know how to drive one?"

Kord had been nice enough to show her how to drive the last time they'd gone to the merchant ship to look at fabric. "Yes, it's not a problem."

The chagrian nodded. "Feel free then, you don't need to ask," he said with a smile.

"Thanks," she said and waved as he left the house.

"Finally worked up the nerve, have we?" Kord said, getting up.

Rey shrugged. "I'm just going to talk. I'm not expecting much."

The twi'lek looked thoughtful but smiled. "I'll see you when you get back," she said as she touched Rey's arm and then walked out.

Rey watched her go, envious of the way the indigo sentient almost glided as she moved. _Hashtag life goals,_ she thought wryly before turning away to take stock of her new supplies. Gilas had sold a few of her paintings when she'd first moved in and then had procured her nearly everything she needed to paint as she had on Earth.

She was broke again, but both Gilas and Kord had been quite sure that it was a good investment in her talent. It was a risk, but the chagrian seemed to think that her works could command a higher price point if they were made using better tools and colors. Hopefully he'd sell a few more of her pieces soon, though.

Rey stalled as she struggled to _not_ talk herself out of going, and even after she left, she may have taken the long way. The closer she got, the more it felt as though someone was waiting for her there. She grimaced and turned the speed down another notch. She didn't like the feeling, but she needed the visions to stop or at least slow down. So far this Maz Kanata was the only person she'd ever heard of who might know something about what was going on.

She could only put it off for so long and two hours after her thirty minute journey began, she arrived. Rey parked the speeder and looked at the _palace_ —because that's what it was. Rey had worked at bars—even galactic ones, but this place was on a whole other level with statues, fountains, and _towers._

The Earth girl did her best not to stick out but she also couldn't help marvelling at the beauty of the place. She had her phone out and she was snapping pictures like a goddamn tourist before she could stop herself. _You can take the girl off of Earth but you can't take the Earth out of the girl,_ she thought with some amusement.

The front entrance with its multitude of flags surrounding the statue of a sentient really was a sight to behold. Rey spent some time taking in the chaotic beauty of the style and architecture, but eventually she made it to the double doors and opened them. She smiled as music filled the air and sentients and humans of all shapes and sizes clustered about speaking to one another. It wasn't like Maelin's bar which was a low key place with a quiet atmosphere. Noise and movements suffused the entire space of Maz's bar.

Rey stepped around a few crowded tables and moved through the area, looking around until she finally spotted a small empty table. The chair was comfortable when she sat down, and she pulled the order pad over. Only the fanciest places in De'Prurin had these but she was at least familiar with them.

The Earth girl ordered a drink as she continued looking around, taking in the variety of species. Rey's fingers twitched and she couldn't help pulling out her small sketch pad and pen. She allowed the pen to glide over the paper as she watched a particularly interesting sentient that she thought might be called a kalleran.

Her drink eventually arrived and she closed the sketch pad. Rey was about to ask the waitress about Maz when the words died in her throat. Her waitress was a tiny orange sentient who would be lucky to clear Rey's waist on a good day. She wore a set of goggles that magnified her tiny eyes. Most importantly, however, was the fact that this was the same sentient as what was depicted outside.

"Maz . . . Kanata?" she asked hesitantly.

The sentient smiled. "I was wondering when you would show up, child," she said as she lifted herself up and into the other chair across from Rey.

"My friend uh . . . Kord Mondrachia told me that maybe you could help me," Rey said softly even as she decided to actively ignore the fact that the little orange sentient had somehow been expecting her.

"What exactly is the problem?" Maz asked gently.

Rey bit her lip. "I—I think I . . . I see things—sometimes. Things I shouldn't see."

Maz nodded in understanding. "You have the gift."

Rey felt her expression fade. "Considering that it was probably that gift that got me kidnapped, I'm not sure you and I share the same view of it. How do I get rid of it?"

The sentient was quiet for a moment as she mulled over Rey's words before meeting her eyes. "Are you really sure you want to be rid of it? It was that gift that put you on this path, yes, but it is also your gift that will get you _home."_

Her eyes widened. "Home? I can get back to Earth?"

Maz shrugged. "How do you think Kylo Ren found your planet?"

Rey's thoughts came to a screeching halt. She hadn't told anyone on Takodana about what had happened. "How do you know about that?" she asked, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

The sentient did not seem offended or intimidated by Rey's sharp words. "I am no Jedi, nor Sith, but I know the Force and your past . . . it does not have to control you."

 _Control . . . What a riot,_ Rey thought. She hadn't had an ounce of control since this shitstorm had happened. "I'll be able to put the past behind me when I'm home. How do I find Earth?"

Maz looked as though she wanted to say more on the subject but she eventually just shrugged her shoulders. "I assume there is someone back on your planet for whom you care deeply," she said.

Poe's face flashed through her mind. "Yes," Rey said without hesitation.

Maz nodded. "It is a delicate thing—untangling one thread from a knot of trillions."

 _Trillions,_ she thought in dejection, but Rey steeled herself. "Kylo Ren was able to do it," she said.

The sentient smiled and inclined her head slowly. "Kylo Ren and the light exemplar are a special case. They share a thread—as all those bound by the Force, do."

Rey slumped in dejection but Maz continued. "But you still have a chance. Your planet, an isolated system amongst the vast emptiness of the uncharted zone is far easier to differentiate than it would be if it was within the empire."

On a certain level, Rey understood the idea. Like finding a needle in an empty jar rather than a hay bale.

Still it couldn't be that easy. "How do I do it?" she asked.

"You must focus on the person who means the most to you. It will take time and energy but give yourself fully to the Force and commune with it, and it might show you the way."

The person who meant the most to her was her brother, Poe. Kylo Ren, though . . . "That's what he did? He focused on the . . . on the exemplar and that's how he found Earth?"

Maz inclined her head. "Yes, he had a connection with the light exemplar already and that made it possible for him to follow the thread back to your planet, despite never having met or even seen her. He would find it difficult to do the same thing if the exemplar was . . . for example, living within the empire."

Rey nodded thoughtfully. "How do I . . . commune?"

Maz blinked at her before she pulled her goggles up. Her eyes were even smaller than Rey had thought they'd be. She took Rey's hand within her own. "Close your eyes and just _feel._ Remember how you felt during your visions and find that feeling. Allow your mind to drift within the sea of your connection."

She swallowed as she thought back to the last vision—remembered the sense of detachment to reality as though she were within a dream. Her fingers tightened on Maz's as the noise of the bar fell away and Maz helped her to bridge the connection to the Force. "I—I feel it."

She could hear the soft whispering of a thousand voices calling to her to join with them—to free herself of her pain and fear. She could feel Maz's hands both in the physical plane, and her very essence surrounding Rey and protecting her.

Maz'a voice was an ethereal whisper that moved about, leading her towards the light. "The Force flows through everything and if you have a connection, you can use it to find the one you seek. To find your brother and planet."

It was . . . it was the most beautiful feeling. The light was warm and as she drew nearer to it she could see that it was not a solid shape but a knot of golden threads tangled together. Most were the color of the sun, but a few were dark while others shown brightly even in comparison to the knot. Rey looked down at the thread that wrapped around her wrist. It was a shining silver but . . . She looked back.

Far behind her, the thread dimmed and darkened to a line of obsidian. Rey's brows furrowed as she felt the darkness tug at the thread, calling her back towards it and away from the warmth. The air chilled, the longer she looked into the abyss and she could feel it calling to her, coaxing her towards it—asking her to show it the way.

 _Come . . ._

 _No!_ She thought desperately as it spread down the thread—or perhaps as she was drawn closer to it. The darkness filled her with a cold fear even as it gently brushed her fingers. It . . . it was _searching._

Rey yanked herself away and in doing so, broke her connection with Maz. She gasped as the noise and people of the bar came back and her eyes snapped open. She panted for a few seconds as she realized how exhausted she suddenly was. How long had she been sitting there?

Maz sat back and watched her. "You're afraid of it," she said, her tone understanding but sad.

Rey didn't want the other woman's pity. "Wouldn't you be?" she asked. "It . . . It feels like _him."_

"The darkness is exemplified by Kylo Ren," Maz said gently. "It will always be with you because it is _part_ of you. You can't be whole and in balance until you accept all aspects of your power."

The Earth girl shook her head. "I _don't want_ to accept it. I can barely accept the idea that I'm having these . . . these visions because of some crazy mystical Force."

Maz didn't push her anymore on the subject. "I can only advise you to meditate and strengthen your connection with the Force. Do not lose control and expand your reach too quickly or others may be drawn to you. Hone in your search until your brother's thread reveals itself and you find your planet." She paused. "It may take a while—Years perhaps."

Rey shrugged. "Well, I have nothing but time at this point."

The orange sentient nodded. "It will also help you to be in better control of the visions if you meditate regularly and allow them to come freely to you when your connection is strongest."

She nodded. "Thank you."

Maz patted her hand one more time before hopping down from the chair and disappearing into the crowd. Rey sat there for a while, mulling over her own thoughts and doubts. Was the darkness really part of her? It didn't feel like her—it felt like a cancerous lesion. It felt like _him_. The answers didn't come so she settled her bill and made her way back out to her speeder. It was dark out so she'd obviously been gone from the commune for quite some time. The trip back seemed to go by far too quickly.

Kord was sitting out on her patio when she returned. There was a twisted plastaglass wine bottle and a glass sitting on the small table beside her. The indigo twi'lek was sipping her own wine and reading a datapad, but she smiled as Rey approached and poured a second glass. She held it out with a smile and Rey took it gratefully before she sat down in the other chair. It was nice out, after all.

"How was you your little side trip?" Kord asked, the datapad laid upon her lap.

Rey shrugged and took a generous swallow of the alcohol. "Educational."

Kord quirked a hairless brow. "You were gone for quite some time—most of the day, in fact."

"How long were you waiting?"

"Not long. I saw the light of the speeder from my home as you returned and I thought you could use a drink."

 _She'd thought right,_ Rey thought as she took a drink of the wine. It was strong and just what she needed. The Earth girl sighed as she sat back and looked up at the sky. The two moons of Takodana were bright against the dark night sky and the stars shined like she'd never seen on Earth. The line of lights that twinkled along the milky path of the galaxy was something she hadn't tired of seeing since moving to the commune.

She'd sat in these chairs nearly every night with Kord and there was a comfortable silence between them for a while until Kord finally spoke."I was thinking you need a break."

"A break? I've hardly done anything." Rey said with a snort over the rim of her glass.

Kord rolled her eyes. "You gave Gilas six paintings today. Time to take a sabbatical."

Rey's plans included making as much money as possible so she could get a ship and get back to Earth. They didn't include a sabbatical where she sat on her ass. "I don't know," she said doubtfully.

Kord sighed as though she were much put upon. "Rey, Gilas is too polite to say anything but you need to slow down."

"What? Why?" she asked incredulously.

Kord raised her chin and looked towards the sky. "Because if you flood the market with pieces, the value will drop. Your customers won't like that and neither will you. As it is, Gilas will only put them out a few at a time anyway in order to maximize profit."

Rey sat back. As much as it pained her, it made sense. "Fine. I guess I can take a few weeks off."

Kord's expression instantly morphed into a mischievous smile. "Perfect. It just so happens that I'm going to be doing one of my month-long mini-tours where I visit all my best clients. Face-time is important in maintaining these kinds of relationships. Never know when some upstart will show up and attempt to steal a client."

After knowing Kord for a few weeks, the Earth girl was fairly sure that _Kord_ had been that upstart at one time and she wasn't about to let the same thing happen to herself.

"You're leaving for a month?" she asked. Kord hadn't mentioned any trip to her, least of all, one that would take her off-planet for a month.

"Yes, and you're coming with me," the twi'lek said with a smile.

Rey shook her head. "You know I can't. No ID, remember?"

"You mean one of these?" Kord dropped a small datapad about the size of a postcard onto the table between them. Rey's eyes narrowed as she picked it up. It was an imperial identification pad and her picture was displayed there along with her name, though it was spelled oddly.

 _Raehna Kilesvy._ It had probably been Gilas's best attempt at writing her name based on phonetics alone, but at least he'd gotten close with the first name.

"Where did this come from?" she asked, ever as her eyes moved over the text.

"One of Gilas's messengers dropped it off earlier, and I told him I would make sure you got it. It's transient status but legal," Kord said with a smile. "Now you can go anywhere within the empire. We just need to stop by a trade world and get you a subcutaneous chip."

A chip . . . She'd seen them before—seen people use them, but they'd always seemed to far beyond what she'd be able to attain. FN-2187 had just needed to wave his hand over a pad to purchase things back on Ord Canfre, while she'd used physical credits for everything. She'd finally broken down one day and asked about the tiny specialized nanite that was placed below the skin just above the thumb. It was what most people had instead of carrying an ident pad. Rey's jaw tightened as she thought over what this meant. She could go to any planet and buy a ship and not have to worry about imperial scrutiny. She was just one of trillions of citizens and transients within _his_ empire.

The twi'lek handed over another larger pad. "Gilas came up with a cover story for you when he filed your paperwork. His contacts have provided the necessary record so that it's all true."

Rey took the pad and looked it over. "I'm a refugee now?"

Kord shrugged. "Registering you as someone from the uncharted zone would have drawn attention to you—and the commune. The attack on Kalee was biological so the empire was giving out spectrum injections left and right to help those who were sick and dying. There wasn't a lot of oversight and as a result, a lot of people got the nanites but they weren't citizens. Most still aren't." Kord paused and switched gears. "We'll stop by the imperial bank and get you set up so that Gilas can just deposit your earnings that way."

She felt as though she were in some other reality. _A space bank account . . . why not?_ Rey nodded. "I have some physical credits to deposit as well," she said as held the ident pad as though her life depended on it.

Kord inclined her head. "Great. Pack your stuff tonight. We leave in the morning," she said with a smile and sat back. Rey laughed and sipped her wine.

They were up chatting late into the evening, and bright and early the next morning, Rey watched as a few droids loaded up her things. More than half were her painting supplies as she still didn't really have much else. Kord had begrudgingly said she could do her painting aboard as well, just in case she was taken with a bit of inspiration.

Kord's ship was . . . not what Rey was expecting. They'd always taken fairly small and innocuous transports from Maz's bar to the merchant ships that came through the sector.

The twi'lek laughed at her awed expression. "You didn't _really_ think we were going to go on a galactic tour in a _cargo ship,_ did you?"

Rey wasn't quite sure what she'd been expecting, but Kord's touring vessel was a luxury _yacht_ of ship. Her eyes were wide as she looked around the beautifully appointed interior of the baudo-class ship. The main color was white, of course, with accents of wood and large duraplast viewports.

Kord seemed to be basking Rey's awe and she smiled. "This ship nearly broke me financially for a couple of months, but the type of clientele that I see now expect to be kept in utmost luxury, even just to talk clothing," the twi'lek confided honestly.

She showed Rey to her room which was tastefully appointed and left her to unpack her things. "I'm going to get us into hyperspace. It's been awhile since you talked to your man. You can use the comms on the ship once we jump, if you'd like," she said hesitantly.

Rey looked away from her friend. It's not that she didn't like talking to 2187, it's just that their last conversation had been . . . strained.

"When do you think you'll be able to visit again?" he'd asked, a note of sadness in his voice.

Rey shrugged, "I'm not sure. I still don't have an ID chip so I can't go back there officially. My paintings have been selling really well so hopefully, I'll be able to get my ship sooner rather than later. I'll be able to stop by Ord Canfre to see you before I go to find Earth."

The stormtrooper had looked away from her then. "If you just wait a few more years, I'll go with you."

"We'll see," she said.

He met her eyes at that. "I just don't like the idea of you going out there by yourself into the uncharted zone," he said.

If Rey was being honest with herself, she wasn't terribly fond of the idea, either, so she'd nodded. "I'll think about it."

'87 had sighed and smiled. "Just—Just let me know if you leave."

The conversation had petered out from there and Rey hoped they'd eventually get back to their easy banter. She could tell that it bothered him that he didn't know which planet she was on or where the commune was, but the rules of the commune did not even allow her to comm off-planet.

As it was, Rey was still unsure about contacting him quite yet so she nodded at Kord. "I'll think about it."

"Uh huh," Kord hummed with a smile before leaving, the door sliding shut behind her.

Rey sighed and began putting everything where she wanted it, securing her art supplies and moving her clothing to the closet. A few minutes later the ship trembled slightly and the view of space changed to the swirling blues and whites of hyperspace.

* * *

Kylo's eyes slid open slowly—lazily as he smiled. He'd been close to her. He'd felt her, felt the glow of her warmth drawing him closer to her. She'd been afraid of him—of the darkness, but he would help her accept it . . . an him once he found her. He and Hux were coordinating a raid on the Resistance soon, but after that, Johanem would be moving his main fleet into position to assist in pushing the Resistance back into the crags of the uncharted zone.

And then Kylo would be free to finally return to Earth.

* * *

Sorry for being late about this update! I had a major exam in my calc class so that had most of my attention, but this chapter needed some help to further flesh out that encounter with Maz. I hope this helped to answer some of the questions that I've gotten about how Kylo found Earth. :)


	16. Chapter 16

The first planet on the itinerary was Yavin IV. It was a pretty planet but not exactly what Rey had been expecting from Kord when she was talking about resort and pleasure planets.

"Oh, we're not here to work . . . or party," Kord explained as they disembarked. "This planet is a giant buzzkill, if you ask me."

"So . . . ?" Rey began but Kord had already taken her hand and the pair were strolling through the space port arm in arm. Rey had only ever seen the landing port on Ord Canfre and Maz's bar on Takodana. The port on Yavin IV made those look like school bus stops. There must have been at least ten thousand sentients and humans milling around just in that hangar alone, and she'd seen six of the city-sized blue marbles as they'd come in to land.

Ships of differing sizes and shapes lined the landing pads, each cordoned off with beams of light that kept those without the correct chip permissions out. There was no ceiling—not in the traditional sense, but rather a glowing blue force field that opened and closed in certain places allowing ships in and out. Small, one person air speeders zipped about directing the vessels to their landing sites. There were humans of every ethnicity and sentients of all kinds going about their business and the place was loud and slightly obnoxious—just like back on Earth.

It brought a bit of a smile to her face and Kord pointed to a familiar building in the distance. The imperial emblem glowed like a beacon and she was reminded of 2187. She needed to comm him soon.

"We'll stop by the imperial station and get your chip and then head to the bank," Kord said and Rey nodded.

"Are we doing anything else here?" she asked as her eyes passed over the crowd lazily before catching the gaze of a man. She could not see him well under his dark hood but he was definitely looking at her. Rey swallowed and looked away for a second. When her eyes drifted back, he was gone. Her heart beat began to pick up subtly as she looked frantically around for the man.

"No," Kord answered and Rey's attention snapped back to her.

"You didn't have to make a special trip for me," she said, pushing the disappearing creepy guy from her mind.

Kord shrugged and shook her head. "Don't worry about it. The resort planets have remote offices and banks, but they always take longer. Yavin IV might be very busy but their Imperial station is one of the most efficient offices in the galaxy, so we'll be out of here in an hour."

"That fast?" Rey asked skeptically. The last time she'd been to the DMV to simply change her address it had taken half the day.

"That fast," Kord replied with a smile.

The station was quite a bit larger than 2187's remote office had been and the emblem of the Corellian Empire spun around within the rings going in the opposite direction. Storm troopers and officers walked in and out and Rey took a deep breath before walking inside.

An officer sat behind a desk doing paperwork and Rey had a sudden sense of deja vu from her last day in New York when the lady cop had had a similarly bored expression on her face. Rey swallowed and nearly turned to leave, but just as James had held onto her then, Kord held her arm now. Her expression was one of concern.

"Rey . . . Are you alright?"

A few of the officers looked up at the question and Rey nodded quickly, her face ashen as she struggled to work up the nerve to do something as simple as get her ID chip.

"Ma'am is there something I can help you with?" the officer behind the desk asked, looking at her curiously.

Rey nodded again and walked towards the desk. She set her ident pad down. "I—I need to get a subcutaneous ID chip," she said.

The officer took the pad and inserted it into his computer while tapping a few times on his own data pad and transferring the information to his systems.

"Raehna Kilesvy. Planet of Origin: Dantooine," he said looking over his holoprojector. "Approved for transient work status."

She nodded and smiled a bit as he looked over her credentials. "Everything seems to be in order." He pulled her ident pad out and handed it back along with another card. He pointed down the hall beside the counter. "Go down there and it's the fifth door on the right. Someone will be in to see you with your ID chip."

"Thank you," she said with a nod before she and Kord walked down the hall and waved the card in front of the panel. The door opened and they went inside. The room was plain with white walls and it reminded her of a doctor's office but instead of posters of anatomy, there was popaganda vids playing on various holoprojectors mounted in each corner of the room. There was a table in the middle of the space with two chairs on the side facing towards the door. She and Kord sat down and it was only a few minutes before a droid rolled in holding a datapad and scanner along with a metal cylinder. The top half of the droid was human in shape, while the bottom had a ball component that allowed it complete freedom of movement.

"Miss Kilesvy, I am MJ-45 and I'll be helping you today."

Rey nodded. "Thank you," she said as the droid moved forward while lowering its upper half become more level with the seated sentients. It set down the items and pulled her records up onto a small holoprojector.

MJ-45 gestured to the information. "Your records indicate that you received your spectrum and translation nanites on Dantooine as a child refugee of the human settlement that was attacked on Kalee."

Rey nodded. "I just received transient citizenship for work and this is my first time off planet."

The droid nodded and picked up the cylinder. "Please give me which ever hand you will be using."

She held out her left and MJ-45 placed it flat on the table before resting the end of the cylinder against her skin.

"This will sting slightly," it said and she nodded. MJ pushed the button on the end, and it was like being pinched but it wasn't very painful. The cylinder was removed and the area was red but she didn't see any discernable injection site.

"Your nanites will have that healed up in a few minutes," the droid said as it picked up the scanner and waved it over her hand. The little machine beeped and MJ turned it to show her name and picture popping up.

"Please check that this information is correct."

Rey looked it over. It all lined up with what was in her records so she nodded.

The droid rolled back and regained its height. "We're all done. If you notice any pain, swelling, or redness beyond the next two hours, please report back to an imperial station for examination."

She nodded "Thank you."

The droid left the room and Kord turned to her. "Why don't we go get your accounts set up and get some lunch, then we'll get out of here," she said.

Rey got up and she smiled. "Yeah, that sounds great," she agreed before she looked down at her hand. She'd be able to go anywhere in the empire now and not have to worry about being arrested. Rey continued looking at her hand even as they walked out and Kord chatted about the next planet they would be going to when suddenly she lost the ability to move. Her body froze and Kord nearly toppled over beside her.

"Rey! Rey, what's wrong?" Kord asked coming around to face her.

A masculine voice spoke from behind her. "Begone, twi'lek."

Rey watched as Kord's eyes went wide before she let go of Rey and simply walked off. The Earth girl watched Kord's retreating figure with a sense of dread and it was then that she noticed that no one was looking her way despite the fact that she stood in the middle of a crowded walkway. Humans and sentients alike walked around her and just passed by.

She knew who it was—the man from before. Her stomach dropped as she recognized the same feeling of paralysis as . . . _What the hell was going on?_ Rey tried to move but she felt utterly frozen as the man came around and faced her, his hood was down now so she could get a look at him. He was tall, at least a head taller than she, and his skin was pale, like it had never seen the sun. His pale brown eyes wandered over her face and body and she shivered as though she could feel him physically. His brown hair was long but pulled away from his face in a high bun, and she wondered absently if he would sparkle in sunlight too.

His head cocked to the side as he examined her. "What a rare creature, you are," he said finally. His voice was low and had an almost lazy quality to it as though even speaking was an annoyance.

She took in a shuddering breath. "Not that rare, promise."

His lips spread into a toothy grin and his brows went up. "On the contrary . . . How have you made it so long without being found?"

 _What the fuck was he talking about?_ "F—Found?" she asked in confusion. Of course she'd been found. She was standing in the middle of Yavin IV Grand Central Station because she'd been _found_.

He continued looking her over. "I could sense your power the second you entered the system. I expected a child, but look at you—A woman full grown. What a treat to not have to deal with a squalling babe."

He was a kidnapper of _children_? Oh, this just got better and better. "I don't have any power," she said.

The man snorted. "You do. You've not been formally trained but you are not oblivious either."

Christ, this guy probably kidnapped and killed kids and now he was gonna do the same to her. She mentally cursed the shit-lord again. This was all _his_ fault. "Who are you?" she asked. If this guy was going to chop her up or wear her skin like a suit, she at least wanted a name to curse into perdition.

His head tilted and his expression turned slightly indulgent. "I am Caserian Ren."

The name ripped through her like a bullet and she would have stepped back if she could have. Oh, this was much worse than a child-snatching murderer. _Fuck . . ._

He watched her carefully and his eyes became hooded with satisfaction. "So you are not so unaware. You know what I am."

"A Knight," she breathed out. She didn't know a lot about the Knights of Ren, only that Kylo Ren was their leader. That was enough for her to know to stay off their radar.

"Yes," he answered. "But that still doesn't explain your existence. We have thousands of Knights that blanket the empire and search for Force-users. How have you escaped detection?"

"I—I'm not from the empire," she said quickly.

He moved closer and she flinched as he took her hand, the one that had just received the chip and brought it up to his face. She expected his skin to be ice cold as he looked to have been chiseled from marble but he was warm. The Knight's thumb moved over palm of her hand and she could _feel_ him trying to push his way _inside._

"Your thoughts are hidden," he said almost cautiously. "Only Kylo Ren, himself, has ever been able to shield his mind from me." His eyes snapped up from her hand to her eyes and she gasped as she felt him forcefully pushing at her.

"No . . ." she gritted out, shoving him back and his once lazy expression transformed into pure interest and want.

He licked his lips and smiled at her. "If you come with me, you will be trained as a Knight. I may not be able to read your thoughts but I can feel your _fear._ I'll train you myself and then you'll never be afraid again."

Red angry eyes slashed through Rey's mind and she shook her head. "No. I—I can't."

He dropped her hand and his fingers caged her face on either side. "Why not? _I have to know."_

All at once it was as if the oxygen in her lungs escaped and she couldn't _breathe._ Flashes of Kylo Ren and his ship—the scent of the dead bodies putrefying only feet from where she herself was slowly wasting away—the gut wrenching shrieking when her pod was jettisoned and she'd been left behind.

He yanked his hands from her face but he didn't step back as he looked her over. "So you're the one—the one who had Lord Ren in such a state. His anger could be felt from a hundred systems away," the Knight said, his tone curious and surprised.

"I just want to be left alone," she whispered.

Caserian tilted his head, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. "I've never felt anything like you before. Your very being is _entrenched_ within the light. I can see why Lord Ren would have mistaken you for the exemplar . . ." He trailed off, his eyes sweeping over her again. "If not for what had happened with the Supreme Ruler, I would think . . ."

The Knight shook his head as he backed away, his expression pensive. "I will not force you to leave with me—not with what has happened. Your fear, however, is on the verge of consuming you."

"Well, this particular situation isn't exactly helping my nerves," she said quietly. So she was strong with the light side of the Force—like the Jedi that Maz had spoken about.

Caserian snorted. "I suppose not, but are you sure you would not like a teacher? You would not be welcome in the academy, but I would take you for an apprentice."

She shook her head quickly and he looked mildly put-out but he nodded anyway. "Were I your master, your first lesson with me would be to let go of your fear. It will keep you alive, but if you allow it to control you, you will fall to the darkness," he said and she shuddered, thinking of the shadow that lingered around her.

He continued. "You should guard yourself more thoroughly, Reyna. Not all Knights will be able to resist the call of your power," he said as he reached out again towards her and she flinched away now that she had some mobility back. His expression fell slightly but he dropped his hand from her.

"A pity."

With that he turned and melted into the crowd and she took in a shuddering breath. "Fuck . . ."

Rey knew the instant the man's power had faded, because suddenly people were looking at her strangely and she was shoved on the shoulder a bit as though the man walking by hadn't seen her at all. He apologized profusely but his confusion of how he'd missed seeing her was clear. She waved him off and continued to stand there for a few minutes before a hand came around her arm.

"Oh my stars! Rey! What was that? One minute we were walking and the next I was just wandering around. Are you alright?" Kord asked, her voice overrun with concern as she faced her human companion.

"It was a Knight of Ren," Rey whispered.

Kord's expression froze and she began tugging insistently on Rey's hand. "Come on. We're leaving—Now," she said and Rey let the other girl pull her along until they were back on their ship. Rey sat in the communal area while Kord got the ship out of the hangar and back into space.

Rey was having a hard time wrapping her head around what had just happened. Even on top of what had occurred on Earth, she'd nearly been kidnapped in the middle of thousands of people in broad daylight. Kylo Ren and his _child-snatching brethren_ fell even further in her estimation—if that was even possible.

Kord came back and sat beside her. The cabin was quiet for a long while until Rey finally spoke. "He was going to take me . . ." she said, trailing off.

"But he didn't," the indigo twi'lek said and Rey heard the 'why?' loud and clear.

She swallowed before nodding. "I um . . . I was kidnapped before—from my world," she said and did her best to keep herself steady. In the months since she'd been taken, Rey had done nearly everything in her power to cope—to forget—to _move on._

Kord's words were soft and soothing. "Is that how you ended up within the empire?"

Rey inclined her head shallowly. "Yeah. You know already that I have some Force-sensitivity, and so someone came to my planet and took me because of that."

"But they let you go?"

Rey laughed. "More like threw me away. He figured out that I was more trouble than I was worth and left me on a rim-world with no translation nodes as punishment." She thought back to those day she spent wasting away in the darkness before the blinding fall of re-entry and the pains of hunger and injury as she was carried into the remote office of De'Pruren.

"Rey, I'm—I'm sorry," Kord said as she put her arm around the earth girl.

Tears welled up and fell from her eyes as much of the pain that she'd kept bottled up for months surfaced and she turned toward Kord. The twi'lek pulled her close and allowed her to sob into her shoulder. Kord's cool fingers rubbed circles into her skin and Rey could feel the thread of the twi'lek's energy signature wrapping around her. Kord wasn't Force-sensitive, but her empathy and open mind were like a balm to Rey's nearly shredded existence.

Casarian had been right. She was afraid—afraid of the Knights—afraid of what she would find when she returned home—afraid of what the future held and if her suffering so far was but a taste of what was to come.

Rey wrapped her own arms around Kord's middle and held on to the other woman like an anchor in a storm. "I thought I was safe," she finally said quietly. "I thought he would never find me."

"He won't," Kord said.

The Earth girl snorted. "He could."

But Kord shook her head. "No, Rey. The Knights—there aren't as many as they like people to think there are. They stick to the bigger hub planets in order to find people. I didn't . . . didn't think you were strong enough for anyone to notice, but from now on, we'll only go to the less populated planets."

Rey wanted to say 'No' and ask to go back to Takodana. She wanted to hide in her little blue house and just paint until she could go home, but . . . she also wanted to see the galaxy. The Knight had told her not to give in to her fear—not to let it control her. She was in a spaceship with a purple alien about to go on a month-long tour of the most beautiful places that human eyes had ever seen. Could she really crawl under a rock just because she was afraid?

"It'll be alright, Rey," Kord whispered into her hair and the earth girl nodded.

* * *

The raid _had_ been going well . . . at least until Kylo had felt _her._ And now he watched in silent horror as the Resistance ship jumped away and his fists clenched. This was his fault.

"Stop! Don't fire!" he'd yelled, halting Hux's orders to destroy the ship and _finish the war._ He'd ordered instead for the TIEs to incapacitate the ship, but they'd failed, and the vessel had escaped.

The bridge of the Defender was quiet—only Hux's increasingly agitated breathing breaking the silence. No one was looking his way, their eyes averted from him but their _thoughts_. . . their thoughts were damning, and stabbed his mind with accusations like his saber through flesh.

"Lord Ren. A word?" Hux asked, his voice piercing the thick atmosphere of the bridge as the techs and officers in attendance sat in shock at the catastrophic failure they'd just witnessed. Kylo's fists clenched as he gave a short nod, and the pair moved to the back of the command center and into a private conference room. The quiet of the bridge continued even after the door had shut leaving Kylo and Hux alone.

Hux moved away, his back to the Supreme Ruler and he was still for a moment before a gloved fist slammed down onto the table. "What the hell was _that?"_ the general asked, his voice straining with fury.

Kylo flinched, but kept his voice even. "I don't have to justify my actions—"

The general whirled around and Kylo could see two angry splotches of color high on Hux's cheeks as the man's temper frayed further. "Yes you do! Fuck! Kylo, this would have been a decisive victory to end the war and you just flushed it down the drain! Every holonet station will be burning up with news of this and the people will question everything! _Everything Kylo!"_

He knew all of this, but . . . "I could not allow that ship to be destroyed."

"And why not? What am I going to tell the empire when we are overrun by the press looking to make a mockery of the government?" Hux asked angrily.

Kylo breathed deeply as he sat down at the conference table. His face rested in his hands and for once, he reached out towards the exemplar, seeking her warmth—her comfort. She was there in the back of his mind, unknowingly helping to calm his frazzled nerves.

His answer was quiet. "Generals Organa and Solo were aboard that ship."

Hux came to stand beside him before sitting in the seat beside the Supreme Ruler, his eyes accusing. "I thought you were in this to win," he said quietly.

"I am."

But the general shook his head. "I have always supported you, Kylo—even when you dragged me before Snoke, and then again when you wanted to leave that creature. I got you a fleet of ships with the last penny of my family's fortune. I bet _everything_ on you time and again. You are the Supreme Ruler of the Correllian Empire, and _I_ am the one who put you there, because I thought our goals were aligned."

"They are," he gritted out.

The general snorted derisively. "You have always known they were the enemy. What did you think would happen when we won?"

Kylo's jaw clenched.

Hux sighed as he sat back and his expression was disgusted. "Oh, you thought you'd wave your hand and the problem would solve itself. This is a war, Ren. Not an excuse for you to exercise some half-baked childish rebellion against your parents!"

"I know."

The general shook his head. "Obviously you don't. This . . . _debacle_ could ruin everything."

"That won't happen," Kylo said as he finally looked up and met Hux's eyes.

"And how can you be so sure?"

"Because you already have a plan for how to deal with it," he said with full confidence.

Hux's mouth twisted as he looked away. "Do not ever speak of _my_ messes again. You are correct. I will fix this—and then you are going to take a leave to go find your exemplar while I put us back on track."

His own general was ordering him around like an errant child.

"Do not give me that look, Ren," Hux said. "You have been stalling, too afraid to face your exemplar and admit your mistake in taking the wrong girl."

Hux was not wrong, but he wasn't entirely right, either. Kylo _was_ afraid, but not of what he would find on Earth, but of the possibility of what he _wouldn't_ find there.

* * *

We're almost to a big turning point in the story and about a third of the way through the over-all plot? I think?


	17. Chapter 17

_No! Get away from me!_

 _He_ was following her through the thicket and her dress was catching and tearing and he was still just _there._ She fell to the ground, the grass beneath her moist and lush. Her fingers dug into the rich soil as he bore down on her. His held his hand out, reaching towards her and she shook her head in fright as she lashed out.

Rey gasped as she woke up, her fingernails burning as they were bent forward and backward on the strength of her grip on her sheets. She panted heavily and blinked several times in the dim of her bedroom. She looked towards the viewport and the hyperspace beyond. She continued to gaze out at the hypnotizing display in an attempt to calm herself down when she noticed something else floating across her vision. It was a paintbrush and it moved as though the gravity had been removed from the ship.

"What?" she asked quietly into the silence. Was she still dreaming?

Rey looked around and it was not only her paintbrush but articles of clothing, jars of pigments, and some of the furnishings.

Her breathing picked up again as she moved back.

 _Don't be afraid . . . We all feel it too._

 _What?_ That . . . that hadn't been her. There was someone _else._ What . . . what was happening? Her mind, she realized. Her mind was open for _anyone_ to see. She slammed the walls back up, shielding herself, but the items kept floating. Rey shook her head and couldn't stop the scream from ripping from her chest as she buried her face in her knees.

Seconds later the door opened and Kord rushed to her side. "Rey! Rey, what's wrong?" she asked and just like that, everything fell to the ground. A few of the jars shattered against the durasteel floor and she flinched. Kord pulled her close and held her tight.

Rey shuddered as she struggled to understand. "What's happening to me?" she asked. "Everything was floating through the air."

She couldn't see Kord's expression but she felt the twi'lek nod. "It was all over the ship. Even a few things in my room."

"I'm sorry," Rey whispered.

"Don't be. It's alright. You're a Force-user. It's only natural—"

Rey shook her head. "But I'm not—"

Kord pulled away enough to look her in the eyes. "I know you don't want to be, but that's what you are. It's not like an extra toe that can be removed. The Force is inside you and will be with you always."

She looked away. "I just want it to stop."

The twi'lek sighed. "Rey, there is no stopping the Force. If it has a plan for you, then . . ."

"What plan?"

Kord shrugged. "I don't know, but there are hundreds if not thousands of stories of great Jedi, Sith, and Exemplar who followed the call of the Force and their names are still spoken of today as legend."

Rey pulled away and gestured to herself. "Kord, look at me. Do I look like some kind of great Force-user to you? I'm afraid of my own God damn shadow half the time," she said, her lips tight and pinched.

Kord looked sad. "I think something terrible happened to you and you'll never forget it, but I also see someone who has risen above what what was done to you. You're here, with me on this ship. You're so close to being able to go back to your home."

Rey nodded and took a steadying breath. "Thank you."

"I didn't do anything, Rey. I just reminded you of the truth."

Kord looked over at the clock. "It's just about the time I get up anyway. We'll be arriving on Aridus in a few hours."

"What's on Aridus?"

"Not much. Most of the planet is a desert except for one great island located in the middle of the Arid Sea. The salt baths there are the best in this part of the empire and I've got a client staying there."

"Oh," she said

Kord smiled. "Are you alright, now?"

Rey nodded. "I'm okay. Thanks Kord."

The Twi'lek inclined her head and stepped over the small droids that were already cleaning up the glass and pigments.

Rey continued to sit in bed for a while and she watched the colors of hyperspace reflect across every surface in her room. Someone had been there. She hadn't said anything to Kord, not wanting to worry the other woman, but someone had been in her mind when she'd been asleep and they'd remained after she'd awoken. That had never happened before—at least not that she knew of. Could it have been Caserian? She didn't think it was him—it hadn't felt like him.

Perhaps she was spending too much time on the other plane. Rey spent much of her free time there wandering through the tangle of threads that bound all life in the galaxy. Every thread she touched told the story of a life and eventual death and it was difficult navigating through the endless folds of golden knotted thread.

Poe was there somewhere, she just needed to find him.

She spent what felt like decades picking through the threads, and many other users—Knights, she believed—would occasionally brush past her. Some continued on while others lingered around her. One in particular stayed with her as the years passed within—one she knew to be Caserian.

He was nothing but a mist of thin light to her, just as she was sure she was only that to him. He would not hear her words but she spoke to him none the less—if only to break the endless silence. She couldn't bring herself to mention him to Kord and worry her friend unnecessarily. Years would slip by on the other plane, but only a few hours would pass in the real world.

Caserian had been the first to stay as the others seemed as though they were unsure of what she was, but they were never threatening in any way so she did her best to ignore the ever increasing number of them that shadowed her. And the darkness . . .

It crept ever closer, moving down her thread slowly, curiously—Not at all like it had been the first time. There was a caution and wariness about it that confused her, but so long as it kept its distance from her as she moved through the tangled knot looking for Poe's thread, she blocked it from her mind.

Was she going too far? Staying too long? Maz had warned her not to push it too much—that the process could take years. But how the hell was she supposed to find Poe— _Earth_ —if she didn't keep looking?

But now things were changing, even despite her best efforts. Kord was right, there were other things at play, 'forces' that were pushing her along on a path. She gritted her teeth at the feeling of helplessness that filled her mind.

If it wasn't the shit-lord, it was his God-damned _Force._

Rey got up from the bed and made her way to the 'fresher. She splashed water over her face and looked into the mirror. She looked as though she'd just come from a spa. Relaxed and completely at ease. No lines, no dark circles, no stress breakouts—the nanites did a splendid job of hiding her problems from the outside world. She didn't sleep and she rarely ate and no one would ever _know._

She gritted her teeth and clutched at the sink in anger. Everything was different and it was all _his_ fault. She continued to stare until a soft, but striking sound broke her thoughts—that of glass breaking.

Rey looked down and there in the corner of the mirror was the tiniest of cracks in the plastaglass. She backed away, her eyes riveted on the defect and she shook her head. That hadn't been her. She couldn't do that!

Rey turned and left the 'fresher. She looked out into the void of hyperspace as she took a few slow breaths. She wasn't angry—she wouldn't waste the time it would consume to be truly angry.

Rey swallowed before pulling off her sleeping clothes and slipped on one of the many light dresses that Kord and given her when they arrived on the first planet of the trip—well the second, if one counted Yavin IV.

So far they'd visited three other planets in the ten days since Yavin IV, all had been sparsely populated, just had Kord had said, and so far she hadn't seen another Knight since. The first planet had been a colder winter planet, furs and heavy embroidered fabrics were the fashion of choice. She hadn't brought anything that would work in that climate so she'd been prepared to simply stay aboard the ship but Kord had shaken her head, her lekku waving around her back dramatically.

"I'm almost hurt, Rey, that you would think I'd drag you around the galaxy and then just leave you in the ship."

Rey had blinked. "But I didn't bring any—"

Kord rolled her eyes before interrupting. "I have to confess, I had a bit of an ulterior motive in inviting you on this little trip."

She was almost afraid to ask. "What?"

The twi'lek pursed her lips and tapped on her chin with a single perfectly manicured finger. "Well, In order to show some of my designs, I thought I would just bring you along to wear them for the client so they can see what the clothes look like on a person. Sometimes they bring their own servant for that purpose and sometimes they don't."

Rey hadn't known quite what to say to that. "Oh."

So she played model for a bit and rubbed elbows with some of the most wealthy people in the galaxy. It was hard reconciling that with the fact that she'd been eating cardboard-flavored puff bread in a dingy tiny apartment less than two months ago. When she was working on her art, it was the pants and aprons she'd brought, but when she left the ship, she wore whatever was given to her.

Kord's style was ornate and colorful and Rey felt awkward in the formal clothing but she did her best to carry it well for the twi'lek's clients. Kord hadn't been joking when she'd talked about the pampered clients who expected premiere luxury. Rey had watched from the sidelines as Kord gently guided the men and women of the intergalactic aristocracy into the most flattering clothing options for their body types. It was fascinating to watch, really, and she admired Kord's ability to deal with so many different people and personalities and yet always keep a professional composure through every situation.

Rey looked down at her simple dress. It was a long sheer chiffon-like number made up of multiple layers to make it opaque. Kord had wanted to dress her in gowns with beading and embroidery and plunging necklines.

"That's Corellian style, Rey," she'd said.

Sure enough, many of the ladies and gentleman that Rey saw with Kord were decked out in sheer gowns and robes of pastels and covered in lace and beading. It was beautiful, but the Earth girl thought that a bit much for a tourist. For the most part, Rey went around in the simpler dresses that Kord had given to her. Most were solid colors of buff, burgundy, gold and black.

She slipped on a pair of black sandals and pulled her hair up into her customary three buns and grabbed her jacket. Kord was already sitting in the dining area, fully dressed and made up and looking perfect in her white cape dress.

The table was set with an array of fruit and what passed for cheese danishes out here in the empire. Her friend was sipping on a steaming cup of caf but put it down to pour Rey her own.

"How are feeling?" Kord asked, eyeing her with concern.

Rey met her gaze steadily. "I'm okay. It was just a nightmare and I was a little flustered."

The twi'lek reached over and rested her hand over Rey's. "You can talk to me. You know that, right?" she asked and Rey nodded.

"Thank you."

Kord patted her fingers a few times before pulling away. "You're my friend, Rey. If you need help, I'm there for you."

She smiled at her friend. "Thanks."

Kord nodded and took another drink of her caf. Rey did the same and nibbled on a piece of fruit.

"We'll be landing soon. Do you want to do the honors, this time?"

"Really?" she asked

Kord pursed her lips as though thinking it over but her gleeful smile eventually gave her away. "Of course. You're good enough now to handle it yourself."

Rey stuffed the rest of the fruit in her mouth and took off towards the cockpit of the vessel. Kord's ship was incredibly advanced and actually did not require the use of a pilot at all, but Rey had been slowly learning to maneuver the craft in anticipation of piloting her own ship someday.

Kord stood behind her in the doorway as Rey guided the ship out of hyperspace and took over manual control. Navigation charts instantly appeared across the screen relaying the coordinates and trajectories of other ships in the area and within the flight path towards their destination. Aridus lived up to its name and reminded Rey of Ord Canfre—well except for the giant sea that sat like a blue gash in the planet. Within the sea, there was an island—the only green to be seen on the planet. As she got closer to the city island, she noticed that something about it was off. It never quite came into focus.

 _There must be a dome,_ she realized. Some of the more exclusive resorts and hideaways used these mostly clear shields to keep waywards eyes off their clients. That would explain the ring as well. She contacted the landing control admins and gave them her docking codes and was directed to land in one of the bays within the ring. Kord put her hand on her shoulder as she brought the ship inside to dock and proceeded to land. The external doors to the bay closed behind them, securing the ship and Kord clapped her on the back.

"You're a natural," she said, beaming at Rey's smiling face.

 _Poe would be proud,_ she thought. When she got back to Earth _she'd_ teach _him_ to fly!

Security guards watched everyone as they came and went. She waved her hand over the scanner, registering her ID and the landing bay doors opened. The ring went on and on for as far as she could see on either side.

The signs pointed to the right to the ferry terminal so she and Kord hopped on the way lane and held on as they were shuttled faster than a land speeder around the ring to the terminal. They went through security again before being directed to one of the many ferries that took visitors between the ring and the island.

The ferry was more of a pleasure barge—large and decked out in luxury as it glided over the water towards the landing port on the island. A droid rolled by and offered them shallow glasses of rose-colored alcohol. Rey took one and tasted the slightly fruity drink. Kord didn't seem to think anything of the amenities but Rey was rather unnerved. The 'boat' along with the ring and the dome . . . this place was perhaps the most excessive location that she'd ever been to.

"Who pays for all this?" she finally asked.

Kord smiled. "The island was built by the Shera Resort Corporation which is owned by the Hux family. Those people have their fingers in all the pies, but apparently Lady Hux got sick of being spied upon when she went on vacation so she created this chain of very private resorts. They take security, luxury, and extravagance to a whole other level—and people pay through the nose for it. There aren't very many Shera Resorts, but there are just enough of the insanely rich that they make a nice profit every year."

Rey blinked at the rather matter-of-fact explanation. "Oh . . ." she said.

The ferry turned a bit and Rey was finally able to get a good look at the island—and Rey was impressed. The sea was a salty but the island was lush and green. There was a mountain that towered into the air on one side and a small but very modern city spouted up on one side with white spires built into the land.

It was nearing dusk so she pulled her phone out and hastily snapped a few photos of the beautiful island while she still had the light. Rey had a lot of pictures from the planets they'd visited so far; the winter planet and the tropical ones, the gorgeous architecture and the colorful sentients that she encountered. She wanted to record as much as she could.

The ferry eventually docked and they scanned their chips one more time before entering the city. She noticed the noise first as they got closer to the city center. The place was a madhouse and not at all what Rey had been expecting. Humans and sentients in colorful clothes and wild hairstyles strode and danced through the streets and music along with the scents of cooking food filled the air. So far, the planets Kord had taken her to were very quiet and remote. There had to be _thousands_ of people jammed into just this street alone.

Rey was still staring around when Kord spoke up. "Do you want to come with me or stay for the festival?"

She looked around, unsure. "What festival is this?" she asked.

Kord leaned in. "This week is the anniversary of the ascension of the Supreme Ruler two hundred years ago. It used to just be a day but it's celebrated all week on many planets and we're here during the tail end. He's also in this sector visiting a couple of planets so even if he doesn't come here in person, everyone is putting on a show."

Rey felt her stomach drop. "He might come here?"

Kord shook her head. "No. He won't be anywhere near this system, much less this planet. It's not on his route and he's never been one for pleasure planets. We might see a few more imperial officers, but that's only because my client is the mother of one of the generals and he might stop by to see her. No Force-users and no Knights, though."

There were probably hundreds of planets in the sector and Kord sounded confident in her assessment that neither _he_ nor any of his Knights would bother with this world so Rey nodded.

"I think I'll take a look around," she said smiling at the sheer joy that was emanating from the crowd.

The twi'lek nodded. "I'll only be an hour as this is just an initial consult. I'll meet you back here."

Rey smiled and waved at her as she disappeared into the sea of people. She walked for a while, passing through the crowds who were partying wildly. Neon lights in a rainbow of colors lit up the darkness and she smiled as men and women danced around the various musicians that stood in the streets playing for tips. It was so noisy that she nearly did not hear the sound—like someone whispering in her ear. She looked over and through the throngs of people and saw a stone building that stood in stark contrast to the modern and sleek architecture on either side.

Her head tilted and she walked towards it. She hesitated as she heard it again. The sound of a whispering question.

 _Will you . . .?_ it asked.

Will she what?

 _Can you . . .?_

There was a placard beside the door proclaiming the structure to be a historical sight. But why would there be a historical sight on a man-made island? She wasn't able to dwell on her questions for long, though. Something inside was asking for her. Rey tried to reach out with her senses, looking for the thread of life, but there was nothing—No person whose mind she could brush or energy she would sense. Rey shook her head and made to leave anyway. She wanted no part in this.

Are _you . . .?_

She froze. "Am I what?" she whispered before turning back to the door. "Do you know?" she asked aloud but there was no answer. Was the Force trying to tell her something? If it was . . . maybe it would show her the way to Earth. Rey was anything but confident as she pushed the door open and stepped inside. The building was dark with the only illumination coming from the candles that seemed to be placed around rather sporadically.

"Do you know me?" she asked again into the darkness.

"No, child. I'm afraid I don't."

Rey's nearly jumped out of her skin at the answer. She watched as an old man, his hair white and his beard long stepped from the shadows. He had on long brown robes that she recognized. _Jedi,_ her mind whispered. But that was impossible. Their order was extinct.

"I—I'm sorry. I thought I heard something," she said as she began backing away.

"What did you hear?" he asked. Neither his voice nor stance were in any way threatening. Only . . . curious.

"Nothing," she said quickly. "I'm sorry."

The man's watery eyes narrowed. "This is a place of great connection with the Force. If you thought you heard something, you almost assuredly did. Perhaps it called to you."

Rey sighed. "I'm trying to get home. I thought the Force could help me," she said.

"But it hasn't yet." he said, his tone questioning.

She shook her head. "No. The Force has done _nothing_ but ruin my life," she said.

The man was quiet for a time, his eyes sweeping over her, his mind brushing hers and she shuddered as her walls broke before him as tissue paper would to a cresting wave. _He was powerful . . ._ She wanted to back away—to run—-but something told her that this man wouldn't harm her.

"Someone . . . someone strong with the Force . . . he hurt you," the man said knowingly.

"Yeah," she said and of course he knew. Maz had been able to pick apart her past in minutes and this guy seemed to take the Force even more seriously than the bar owner.

"Perhaps if you had some training," he said almost gently, "next time you would be able to defend yourself."

Rey grimaced. "I'm not looking to pick a fight with a guy like Kylo Ren or any of his Knights. I'm perfectly fine staying out of their way and just getting back home," she said tiredly.

The man shook his head sadly. "Your planet will not be enough for you. The Force already calls to you to accept your destiny, and you will have to take up arms eventually. The galaxy will not allow you to remain neutral."

Rey stared at him for a moment. "No," she said softly. "I won't be dragged into some intergalactic fight that I have no stake or interest in. Find someone else."

The man looked pained. "There is no one else. The Force brought _you_ here. You should stay awhile and listen to what it has to say."

She was getting nowhere with this crazy guy and his convoluted words. "I think I'll pass," she said before she turned and pushed the door open again.

 _Rey . . . These are your first steps . . ._ was whispered into her mind.

 _The hell they are,_ she thought. "I'm not playing these goddamn games," she murmured to herself as she looked back but found the structure gone. In its place was a small courtyard leading to a business that was closed for the night.

 _Had any of that been real? Or was it another vision?_

"What the fuck was that?" she whispered. _Great._ Now she was full-on hallucinating— _in public._ Her comm chimed from her pocket and she pulled it out. Kord's picture flashed and Rey blinked. _That was quick,_ she thought.

"Are you done already?" Rey asked after accepting the call.

Kord didn't look impressed. "Holy shit, Rey! Where the hell have you been?"

"Been? I—I've been looking around?" she said, blinking in confusion.

The twi'lek looked frantic. "You didn't answer any of my comms! I thought you'd—"

Kord thought she'd been taken . . . The hallucination . . . but it hadn't been that long. She must have lost time. Rey swallowed but forced a smile. "I'm almost there. Just a few more minutes," she said, proud of herself for sounding so normal.

"Alright. Just hurry up," Kord said and the connection ended.

Rey stood still amongst the writhing crowd. What did this all mean? She needed training? Rey shook her head. She had no intention of ever seeing Kylo Ren again, or fighting him. The guy was a wackjob, and Rey intended to very much keep her distance from him and his supreme douchebaggery.

Rey had been through too much in her life to fall into the cycle of revenge or payback. It would have gotten her thrown in jail back on Earth and out here, it would probably be out an airlock. No . . . for her, the ultimate payback would be getting back to her home and living her life as if he were nothing but a rock that she'd stubbed her toe on—a minor inconvenience not important enough to even comment on. He hadn't _broken_ her.

Still, she was petty enough to hope that whoever the next girl was, that she made his life a living hell. It was a funny thought and Rey even cracked a smile at the idea of the girl in the white coat screeching about her hairdryer not plugging into the power outlets or something. She kept the smile as she began walking quickly, cutting a line through the crowd on her way back to her meeting spot with Kord. It wasn't far, thankfully and she truly got back in only a few minutes.

"What happened? Your comm wasn't working," Kord said worriedly.

"Must have been a deadzone," Rey said with a shrug.

Kord looked thoughtful as she looped her hand through Rey's arm. "Just be careful out there, yeah?"

She smiled. "Sure."

Kord was still looking her over critically. "You look a little tired. Let's go get some caf."

Rey nodded and let the other woman lead her away towards a cafe on the northern side of the city, close to the massive stone resort. Vibrant neon lights gave way to the the subtle glow of street lamps that looked to have been carved from marble. They were incredibly ornate with flowers and vines swirling in aesthetically pleasing designs. The area was clearly more affluent than the district where most of the revelry was going on and the restaurants and bars gave way to higher end shops and people dressed to impress rather than for comfort. The small bistro was filled with monied individuals relaxing in small vignettes and sipping caf in antique china cups. Kord fit right in but Rey wasn't so sure about herself.

They sat down in a pair of stylized wingback chairs overlooking the street through a wide picture window. The duraplast was inlaid with swirling designs reminiscent of an art nouveau style and the rest of the cafe reflected a similar aesthetic. They ordered their drinks from the holo menu, and Rey decided that it was the nicest Starbucks that she'd ever been in.

"How was your meeting?" Rey asked as they waited for their drinks to arrive.

Kord's eyes slid over to her and Rey could tell she had been waiting for the question. "Lady Hux has herself a new boytoy. Can't be much older than her own son, really," she said leaning in as if this was a very juicy piece of gossip that Rey should care about.

"This is important?" Rey asked.

Kord rolled her eyes. " _Rey._ Lady Margolin Hux is one of the most powerful people outside the Imperial political system— _of course it's important!"_

"She's the one who owns the resort right?"

Kord looked towards the ceiling as if commiserating with someone on high. "I keep forgetting that you don't know Imperial history. Lady Hux's son, Armitage, is one of Kylo Ren's generals and probably one of the most powerful men in the empire. Before the invasion by the Yuuzhan Vong, he supported the Supreme Ruler and convinced his mother to pay for Kylo Ren's first fleet of ships when he was trying to establish himself after Snoke's death. The Supreme Ruler holds her and her son in the highest esteem."

Their drinks arrived—some kind of thick bantha milk concoction for Kord while Rey had gotten a hot cup of caf.

"And yet, you don't sound terribly impressed," Rey said, taking a sip of her beverage.

The twi'lek sucked a bit of her own drink through a straw and pursed her lips before answering. "General Hux is an oddball. His mother keeps trying to set him up with the most beautiful men and women, human and sentient, trying to gauge his interest. But he's married to his work. All he cares about is creating the perfect soldier to serve the empire. He's obsessed with the art of war. Force knows what he'll do when or if this war with the Resistance ever ends."

"He turned you down, didn't he," Rey said knowingly.

The twi'lek tried to look offended but failed spectacularly before shrugging. "He's completely my type too," Kord said wistfully.

Rey laughed, but Kord pulled the holo menu back up and hit a few commands before handing it over. It was a holovid of a man with bright orange hair and space-pale skin. He was . . . not hard on the eyes.

"That's General Hux," Kord said and that should have been the end of it but Rey continued to watch the feed. It was clearly something that had been broadcasted at some other point and wasn't live. The general was making some kind of statement.

"Yesterday, during a raid on a Resistance base, an enemy ship carrying Generals Organa and Solo was allowed to escape."

There was background noise that became a deafening roar as people attempted to call out questions to the general but the man held up a darkly gloved hand calling for silence.

"I will take questions after the announcement. The ship was carrying Organa and Solo, however it was also carrying something else—someone else. The Supreme Ruler called off the attack when he sensed that the ship was also carrying thousands of Imperial POWs. The Resistance used our own soldiers—our _citizens_ to shield themselves and were able to make their escape. We are providing our scanning data to the public as well, which will confirm that the cargo hold of the vessel contained some two thousand and thirteen people. I will take questions now—"

She clicked off the video feed and another popped up in its place. An announcement that the Supreme Ruler was returning to the uncharted zone to seek out the light exemplar. Rey hastily shoved the thing away from her and Kord took it with a raised hairless brow.

"Not a fan of the Supreme Ruler?" she asked.

"Hardly," she muttered.

Kord's tone became innocent. "Everyone thought he was horribly disfigured during the war and that's why he wore the mask—who knew he was hiding a perfect face under there."

Rey _knew,_ but a shitty personality—and the minor detail of him trying to murder her—always trumped good looks. Kord watched as the holo-vid began extolling the Supreme Ruler's actions in pushing the Resistance back further into the uncharted zone and Rey looked away.

"He's a hell of a military leader, that's for sure," Kord said, her expression searching as she eyed Rey.

"He's not a terribly . . . likable person, though," Rey said carefully.

The twi'lek shrugged. "Well of course not. He's the Supreme Ruler. You don't get to be in that kind of position by being a nice guy. And, of course, he's the dark exemplar."

"What exactly is an exemplar?" Rey asked. She'd never been able to bring herself to ask Maz about this _other_ girl that Kylo Ren wanted. Kord seemed like a much safer choice.

The twi'lek shrugged. "History isn't exactly my forte, especially not something as theological and metaphysical as the Force."

"Theological?" she asked in confusion.

"You haven't heard of the Church of the Force?" Rey shook her head so Kord continued, "They've been around since the time of Jedi back during the Old Republic. Anyway, from what I can tell every few generations two people will be born that are avatars or 'exemplars' of the Force. Their entire job is to keep the other Force-users in line and not allow one side to become more powerful than the other."

"Like what happened with the Old Empire."

Kord nodded. "Exactly. The Old Empire was controlled by the Sith while the Old Republic used the Jedi as a crutch to maintain power. The Jedi didn't run the government but their belief that dark equals evil caused them to wipe out all but a few of the dark users."

"So there's always two?" she asked after a moment.

Her friend shrugged. "As far as I know." Kord paused and took a sip of her caf. "Rumor has it that he has in fact located the light exemplar," she said, entirely too casually. As Rey looked up and met the twi'lek's eyes, Kord raised a hairless brow. "In my line of work, body language is everything and you learn to read people," she said almost offhandedly.

Rey sighed. "It's not me, if that's what you're implying."

Kord smiled as she took another sip of her drink. "Well obviously not or you wouldn't have been left on Ord Canfre of all places," she said dismissively. "But _Kylo Ren_ really came to your planet and _kidnapped_ you?"

Rey swallowed the last of her caf before answering. "Yep. And he's a complete psycho." Kord looked confused and apparently there wasn't a translation for that particular bit of slang so Rey elaborated. "He's crazy and violent and . . . cruel."

Kord didn't seem at all surprised by the assessment. "If you want to get back at him . . ." she began, but Rey hastily cut her off.

" _I don't._ I've got better things to do with my time than think about Kylo Ren," she said with a dismissive gesture.

"That's rather big of you, Rey."

"Not really," she said as she waved her hand over the holo menu to complete the transaction. It lit up in acknowledgment of her chip and she set the pad down again.

They got up and left their cups on the table. The twi'lek dropped a few credits along with the mess and the pair left. Kord had her arm looped through Rey's and the two women walked sedately through the streets. The crowd had dispersed some in the time that they'd been having their caf and Rey was able to look into the windows of some of the shops.

"Are you going to talk to Maz again when we get back to Takodana? About the flying paintbrushes, I mean." Kord asked

Rey nodded. "Probably. I just don't understand how this is all happening to me. "People on my planet claim all the time to have magical powers but no one ever _actually_ has them. _I_ never had them until I got picked up."

Kord looked thoughtful. "The Force, like any muscle needs to be exercised in order to make it stronger. Force-users also tend to stick together and feed off one another. When he took you, it probably activated a dormant gene or something," she paused and seemed to be working something out in her mind, "Force connection is very, very rare. Out of the trillions of people in the galaxy, there are maybe a few thousand at any given time who can actually tap into the Force. It's strange that there are two of you on the from the same planet like that."

Rey blinked at Kord but the twi'lek didn't meet her eyes.

* * *

Kylo's eyes snapped opened and he gasped as his arm shot out agitation, striking whoever was closest. _This couldn't be happening . . . It was impossible._ There must have been some mistake, but in his very soul, he knew there was no mistaking what he'd seen and _where it had come from._

He tried to sit up and hands attempted to help him but he shoved them away.

"Supreme Ruler!"

Kylo looked over and saw Hux leaning over him, a bruise forming on his cheek while his expression was nothing but concerned. It was then that he noticed that he was in the med bay of the Defender. Doctors and officers swarmed around him taking his vitals and his lip curled in irritation.

"What happened?" he asked and this time he allowed Hux to help him to sit upright.

The general held onto him and there was no mistaking the man's confusion at the situation. "We were speaking about how you would handle the exemplar's planet when you suddenly collapsed."

They had . . . He remembered now. Hux was advising him to allow more ships to accompany him than the first time. He'd realized mid-sentence that the exemplar's mind had opened to him—to anyone and he'd slipped into her dream. She'd been . . . She had run from him, her face a mask of fright as she'd tripped over her gleaming gold and black dress and landed in the grass. He'd held a hand out to her to help her, but she'd screamed and then suddenly he was seeing through her eyes and he'd seen . . .

"It was—it was her. The exemplar. I saw . . ."

"What did you see?" the general asked.

Kylo swallowed and his eyes fell shut. She'd looked out a viewport and had seen . . . " _Hyperspace,"_ he said, his voice barely a whisper.

Hux blinked several times. "That's not possible. We have probes watching that planet. There have been no ships coming or going since we left."

Kylo shook his head in denial as he slipped into the plane of the Force. Their thread . . . he followed it, but it was no longer leading him away from the knot of the empire. It lead directly into its heart. The full force of what was happening was hitting him and his breathing began to speed up and a few of the glass containers in the room shattered.

"Calm down, Kylo."

He left the plane and looked at Hux. "Turn the ship around. _Now._ That planet . . ."

"Which one?" Hux asked in confusion, but Kylo was too busy reaching out towards her. Her mind was shut to him—more so than ever before. The light exemplar was not on Earth. She was somewhere else—somewhere within the empire.

"Ord Canfre," he said at last, remembering the desert planet that he'd left her on.

Hux's eyes narrowed. "What's on Ord Canfre?"

"My exemplar."

* * *

Sorry this took so long to post. I basically re-wrote this chapter almost entirely. Very little of the original version remains, but I think I got across what I really wanted to convey. :)


	18. Chapter 18

Kylo Ren stepped off the speeder, his eyes on the crater that still remained from the evac tube even after so many months. The tube was long gone, picked up by the remote office in the city or scavengers. The crater was deeper than he'd have liked, meaning her landing had not been a soft one. _Just one more thing to apologize for when I find her,_ he thought with a grimace—and there was a _list_ at this point.

He looked over the dry, barren landscape. Of all the worlds he could have dropped her on, why did it have to be Ord Canfre? While it wasn't the furthest planet from the core, it might as well have been. Very few called the desert planet home and it was frequented primarily by freighter pilots and mercenaries—not the sort of people he wanted anywhere near the light exemplar.

He could see the planet's largest 'city', De'Prurin in the distance. It blended almost seamlessly with the golden color of the desert around it, broken up by the occasional splotch of a whitewashed building. Kylo eyed the city for a moment, reaching out, but he felt nothing—which shouldn't have been possible. She had no ID chip or credits so she couldn't have left the planet. Not with anyone reputable, anyway.

His brow furrowed as his thoughts became as desolate as the planet he stood on. He should be able to feel her through the Force if they were so close, but there was no light, no connection . . . nothing. When he'd arrived at the planet and felt no call of another Force-user, he'd done his best to reign in his temper. Perhaps she was shielded by something—it was the only explanation he was willing to accept until proven otherwise.

The Supreme Ruler had already sent his troops and a small group of Knights to scour the city for her, but he'd wanted to see the place where she'd landed—if only to prepare himself to face her and the mess he'd made. Kylo gave the crater one more glance before looking away and walking back to his land speeder. He got aboard, and the stormtrooper set a course for the city without prompting. Kylo watched the arid and cracked landscape from his seat in the back cabin for the five minute ride that eventually came to a halt on the outskirts of the city.

De'Prurin was not much better than the desert it dwelled within. The buildings were old and clearly made of a primitive material like stucco. Much of the population had gathered to see who had come to their quaint little home, and he hesitated for only a second before emerging from the speeder. There was quite the mixture of sentients and humans for such a backwater city on a backwater planet. There was a murmur from the crowd as many recognized his face, but could not hope to guess the purpose of his visit.

An officer from the remote office came forward and bowed. "Supreme Ruler, I am Commander Mordell Asettus," he said, his eyes lowered.

His visit had clearly taken Asettus by surprise. The man's uniform was far from perfectly pressed and he—like much of these people—had the matted sheen of sweat caked in dust.

"I assume that you know the reason for my visit," he said with a tilt of his head.

The man swallowed. "I do, sir."

"Where is she?"

"She's not here?" the commander asked in surprise before getting ahold of himself. "Sir, I'm afraid that after we received word of her . . . circumstances with regards to her attack on you, we no longer had any dealings with her."

"What?" he asked dangerously. He'd harbored some small hope that perhaps someone from the remote office would have assisted her in leaving the planet and thus have some record of her location. "What word? I sent no word regarding her."

Asettus could not meet his eyes, but he was also sure of his words. "We were appraised by your staff as to what happened, and as such we could not render her any aide."

His jaw clenched in anger and Asettus seemed to have figured out that he needed to say _something_ to defuse what was sure to be an explosion. "We gave her translation nodes in order to question her so . . ."

 _Well, there was that at least._ "Where did she go after leaving the office?"

"I—I don't know."

"You don't know . . ."

"We had no reason to track her movements . . ." He trailed off and Kylo continued to stare at him until he burst out, "But I do know who would!"

"Then produce this person."

Asettus nodded quickly. "We uh—we have people out looking for him. He's a stormtrooper, but today he has the day off. He would know where she is."

Kylo grimaced until he felt a call. He looked off to the side to see one of his Knights standing within the crowd of people directly behind a rodian woman and her child. No one noticed the masked Knight, least of all her target.

The rodian seemed to realize that the Supreme Ruler was staring at her and she tried to turn and leave but the Knight halted her movements and the woman froze under the Force-user's power. He moved forward quickly, his eyes narrowed and the woman shrank away from him—as much as she was able to anyway.

"Mama?" the boy asked, looking up and tugging on her sleeve.

He examined the woman, her thoughts more specifically. It was easy to find the focus of his search, though her last memory of the exemplar had been a holo comm. She wasn't here, but she kept in contact with the rodian.

"Breeka, this place is so great!" the girl had said with a smile that lit up her face. _Yes_ . . . this is what he wanted, and a great wave of relief washed over him. She was somewhere that made her happy, and she wasn't suffering because of his actions. Perhaps it would not take as long to seek forgiveness from her.

"I'm so happy to hear that, Rey. You deserve it." _Rey_ . . . Her name was Rey. In his haste, he'd forgotten to ask her name, but now it was seared into his mind.

"I miss you guys, though," she said somewhat sadly. As with most holo communications, there was only the washed out image of her from the shoulders up so he could glean no clues from her whereabouts that way. There was the faint sounds of birds but that was not enough to go on.

"I'm only a comm call away," the rodian responded and the memory faded.

Breeka's fathomless dark eyes met his and he knew she'd felt his less than subtle probe. The Knight had long disappeared, and Breeka had freedom of movement again. She did not try to escape and instead stared him in the eye—not the smartest thing when it came to dealing with Force-users, but he could admire her bravery. Not many had met his gaze . . . ever.

The Supreme Ruler stood before the petite woman. "Where is Rey?" he asked softly, his head tilting to the side as he searched her mind for the location of the girl. It ate at him to find that she didn't know. Rey wouldn't say where she was going, and she hadn't even given the rodian the name of whoever it was that she'd left with.

 _We found something . . ._

His head turned sharply and he left the rodian standing in the market without a backwards glance. More than one of his Knights was interested in whatever had been found. He passed a few rows of buildings before turning a corner. There, in the deserted ally, stood three Knights all looking up at a wall.

Three masked faces turned and looked at him before looking back up at the wall. He joined them and looked up to see what had caught their attention. Kylo could not stop the sharp breath that escaped him. It was the girl he was looking for . . . but not in the flesh. It was a giant stylized image of her surrounded by flowers and done in shades of pink and red with slashes of yellow and green. Her back and shoulders were showing and her head was tilted so the viewer only got a profile look but it was her. She had apparently made an impression on _someone_ in De'Prurin. From what little interaction he'd had with her, he knew she wasn't the type of person to paint a giant picture of herself on the side of a building.

"Who made this," he asked, his voice a bit gruff at the prospect of another person knowing her well enough to have painted such a image.

One of the Knights, Haila Ren, answered. "A twi'lek named Caladon. The son of a bar owner," she said. "He apparently learned to paint from her and he painted this after she left." _The son of a bar owner_. . . Kylo twitched at the prospect and scenarios ran through his mind. Most ended with Kylo running the man through with his cross saber for daring to touch her.

"How did she leave?"

Another Knight, Maigin Ren spoke up. "We are still seeking the stormtrooper, but it is only a matter of time."

He nodded and gave one last look at the mural, committing it to memory before turning away. Kylo stepped back out onto the main road and hoped he was adequately masking his disdain for his surroundings.

He still could not believe what had happened. He'd _left_ the light exemplar on this atrociously hot and _sandy_ planet after _attacking her_. He'd refused to even contemplate the idea that he'd made a mistake in his crazed state, and now months had gone by with her having been forced to eek out a living on this shithole of a planet. Why hadn't he come sooner?

The breakdown he'd had in the medbay had thankfully been mostly private after Hux had thrown everyone out of the room. Even his most loyal ally had been completely taken aback when Kylo had explained what had happened.

"You nearly killed the exemplar and then jettisoned her to a rim world?" the man had asked quietly. "Ord Canfre is an unforgiving world. What if she's already dead? Or wishes she was?"

Kylo had shaken his head quickly. "No. The thread is unbroken, she's still alive, and even if . . ." What? What could he say? 'Even if she'd been forced to sell herself into prostitution or something equally horrific to stay alive, he'd still take care of her'? He'd buried his face in his hands at the very idea of finding his exemplar in some squalid brothel servicing cargo pilots and mercenaries. Her eyes would be dead and unforgiving—and it would have been all his fault. "I didn't know what I was doing! I was so angry. She is nothing like Jerah—"

Hux sighed. "Exemplars aren't carbon copies of one another. You of all people should know that."

Yes . . . he should have known. Kylo Ren was _nothing_ like Anakin Skywalker.

And the shuttle . . . _Five days,_ he'd left her in there. Unbidden, the memory of the security footage from the last time she'd been within his grasp surfaced in his mind. Kylo shook his head, he didn't want to think about that—of her limp half-dead body being carried through the ship by a stormtrooper. Of her eventual awakening after being given the spectrum injection.

But her _screams._ He'd never forget those. The desperate fear that he'd heard in her broken voice haunted him. He'd been so smug then, glad to be rid of her, but now . . . he was being torn apart. He _needed_ her.

A gust of tepid wind brushed over him, coating his dark clothing with the powder fine dust that seemed to cling to everything in this dirty town. Kylo grimaced as he did his best to wipe the dirt away while thinking about what she might have possibly had to do to stay alive. He'd left her nearly nine months ago on this dustball rim-world with nothing, and despite Kylo's less than passive efforts to rid the galaxy of her, she still lived.

Perhaps she'd be thrilled that he'd returned for her. He'd briefly fantasized about coming to this planet and he'd apologize, of course and she'd fling her arms around him begging him to take her away from this armpit of the galaxy. It was a pleasant thought, but hardly in line with the little bit of her personality he'd experienced. No, he'd be grovelling for _years_ to come and he knew it.

He also knew that he needed to find this Caladon who knew her well enough to paint her on the side of a building. There were a half dozen bars within his sight, but the one he sought was not hard to find, not when one of his Knights stood in the thoroughfare—a still dark beacon in a sea of gold and white. The Knight lifted his gloved hand and pointed to a building entrance. Kylo nodded in acknowledgement before looking towards the entrance.

Kylo looked up at the blue sign. Drink Night, it read in standard, but in ryl, the twi'lek native tongue, it translated as something closer to 'Intoxicated Dreams.' He allowed a pleased thought to flit through the Force in thanks. Though, when he looked back, the Knight was gone, but that was to be expected.

He looked around at the people here in this tiny town on this rim world. Many stared at him, though few had the nerve to call out. The crowd had lessened instead of grown as the minutes ticked by. As Hux had said, Ord Canfre was an unforgiving world and unless the Supreme Ruler was there to bestow some kind of gift or aide, they had more important things to do than waste time looking at a ruler who was so far removed from their daily struggles.

Kylo walked towards the bar. He'd have someone look into the committees that oversaw the rim-worlds when he returned to Corellia. The door slid open revealing the tiny space. It was dark inside and it took a few seconds fro his eyes to adjust but not long for his intent to become clear. The few patrons that were there threw credits onto the counter and scurried out after the slightest nudge from him.

His attention was immediately on the paintings that hung all over the place. They depicted a wide range of sentients doing varying jobs. Construction, factory work, selling their wares in the street, though the centerpiece was clearly a wide painting in the center depicting the bar owner himself. A few more were of species that he could not readily identify. Paintings were a rare thing, but even he could tell that most of these were done by someone other than the person who had painted the mural outside.

"What do you want with Rey?" a voice asked and Kylo tilted his head at the sight of the young Twi'lek boy. He could be no older than fourteen or fifteen, but he was big enough that his father was having trouble dragging the child off to the backroom of the bar. _This must be the infamous Caladon,_ he thought as he eyed the boy while his father whispered for his son to keep quiet. Not a threat then, but a boy with a crush.

"Quiet! He is the Supreme Ruler!" the boy's father—Maelin—whispered harshly.

Caladon looked betrayed. "But that's—!"

"Do what I tell you," Maelin snapped and the boy looked mutinous but nodded and closed the door. As the bar owner turned to fully face him, Kylo began moving forward, dragging his gloved fingers over the bar.

"I don't want any trouble," the older twi'lek said, his hairless brow furrowed. Kylo raised a brow as he sifted through the man's feelings. Maelin was a pragmatic sentient who had no intention of endangering his family or livelihood for the sake of a waitress who had worked for him for only a few months—especially when it was the Supreme Ruler himself doing the questioning.

Kylo smiled. "I don't want to give you any. Tell me about the girl that your son painted on the wall outside."

Maelin swallowed and his eyes flicked to the side—to the walls. "Rey . . . She worked for me for a while. She stumbled into town around eight months ago crying and injured. She said she came from a planet in the uncharted zone but I didn't ask her about it. It's not my business."

Kylo's gaze had followed Maelin's. "And these?" he asked gesturing to the art on the walls.

The twi'lek licked his lips. "She painted a lot them and then started selling her stuff off world through the broker next door."

"When did she leave?"

"Two months ago, some snooty chagrian came in here and swept her off her feet with promises to sell her art and she left." Maelin paused before continuing "I knew she was obsessed with getting back to her planet, but I didn't think she'd do something like leave with some random sentient." The twi'lek was obviously more than a little annoyed to have lost his waitress and Kylo could see that he was not entirely sure she'd made the right decision to leave the relative safety of Ord Canfre with an unknown sentient.

 _Her planet?_ She was trying to return to Earth? He supposed that made sense, though the likelihood of her reaching that planet was slim—not without Kylo's help anyway. He was silent as he digested the information. She was gone, and so far no one on this Force-forsaken planet knew where she was. She was still comming her friend, Breeka, so she hadn't ended up in brothel or worse.

Maelin spoke up again. "She's a good kid. Whatever you think she did, it probably wasn't her," he said and Kylo could tell the man was worried for Rey's safety.

"She is not in trouble but I must find her," Kylo said, unsure why he felt the need to reassure the twi'lek. He pushed a feeling of good intentions towards the sentient which made the twi'lek smile and nod in approval.

Mealin looked thoughtful for a moment. "Look, your best bet is either that stormtrooper she was always with or Waldreg, the broker."

Kylo's eyes narrowed. Again with this stormtrooper. He was looking forward to their conversation. The Supreme Ruler nodded shortly and turned to leave the bar, the door shutting behind him. There was still no sign of the soldier so Kylo would speak with this . . .Waldreg.

The door to the shop slid open smoothly and he stepped inside, his gaze flitting around at the various little machines, many not entirely legal to sell in this sector. Towards the back of the shop, there were display cases of jewelry and other valuable trinkets. He ignored all of that in favor of the little man behind the counter who sat staring at him in surprise.

Waldreg jumped up and stuttered out, "S—Supreme Ruler—I—I am humbled to be in your presence. How can I help you?" he asked with great deference.

"I was informed that you could tell me about . . . Rey."

"Rey?" the man asked in some surprise. "The artist? She left a couple of months ago," he said quickly and Kylo was able to skim the man's thoughts. He'd made quite a few credits off the exemplar's art.

"I am aware of that," he said softly, giving no hint to his probing. "I was told you had dealings with her."

Waldreg was practically an open book and his mind was nearly as easy read. Kylo caught glimpses of her paintings as she handed them over to the little man and all the way back to their first meeting . . . The sadness in her face as she set a ring on the counter caught his attention. It had meant a great deal to her but she had sold it, most assuredly for food and a place to stay.

"You have a ring that belonged to her." It wasn't a question. _He wanted that ring._

The little man's eyes widened almost comically as he realized what had just happened. "I—I sold that already," he said with a hint of desperation in his voice.

Kylo peeled back the layers and saw exactly where the ring was. "You are lying," he said simply and held out his hand. "Give it to me," he ordered, allowing his power to lace through his words.

Waldreg trembled as he stiffly opened the safe beside him and pulled out a small black box. He set it on the counter and Kylo picked it up. The supreme ruler opened the box, his eyes running over the shiningly polished ring. A blue stone was set in the middle with smaller diamonds on either side. He yanked at the memory of the transaction from the broker as he studied the trinket.

"It was my mother's engagement ring . . . The husband gives the wife a ring to show his commitment." The words we soft and confused. Her father had given this ring to her mother and she'd been forced to sell it. Kylo closed the box again and turned to leave but the broker seemed to finally find his voice.

"You can't take that! It's worth tens of thousands of credits!" he yelped from behind the counter.

Kylo halted and turned back to the man. "What did you say?" he asked softly—maliciously.

Waldreg seemed to realize the danger he'd found himself in and tried to keep his mouth shut but Kylo was in front of him again in seconds, leaning over, his hand clenching in the air beside the little man's temple.

" _Tell me what you meant,_ " he growled out threateningly.

Tears poured from the broker's eyes as pain filled his mind and he gasped out, "The—the ring is solid churkopt! Enough for a half dozen hyperdrives. That's my retirement!"

 _Her ring was made of the rarest metal in the galaxy?_ That . . . that could present a problem. Waldreg shrunk further into his seat as Kylo pulled his hand away but the Knight didn't need to be near him to take . . . everything.

He pulled the memories from the broker one at a time, erasing Rey—and her rare metal ring—from his memory completely. The broker's mouth hung open and he sagged when Kylo finally released him. The little man would recover. Eventually.

Kylo placed the ring into a pocket within his robes. A present for _Reyna Gillespie_ when he found her. He exited the little shop and stepped back out into the heat. Awaiting him was a stormtrooper bearing the emblem of Ord Canfre on his shoulder and adorned with an orange pauldron to signify his rank as a unit leader. _Ah . . . This must be the stormtrooper,_ he thought. He stalked closer to the soldier, eager to delve into the well of information and memories that were already brewing and bubbling just beneath the surface of FN-2187's mind.

"You knew her," he said, and yes . . . 2187 knew her very well. Kylo drew nearer to the 'trooper as if physically drawn to the memories of her smiling at the other man. His breath caught in his throat as he relived the flashes of the past. They spent so much time together, going out, in that bar . . . _in her home._ His eyes narrowed. Kylo could take the information, but this was easier.

"Take me to her home," he ordered and the other man nodded silently before leading the Supreme Ruler down the street. There was no guarantee that anything would be the same as it had been. She'd left two months ago, after all, but if there was a chance . . . he needed to _see_.

Her apartment was on the third floor and her lock easily opened to him. The old door creaked as it swung open and he stood in the doorway for a while before stepping inside. The tiny space was empty but for a few pieces of decrepit furniture. His _shower_ in the imperial palace was bigger than this apartment. This was where she'd lived for six months.

It appeared the place had not changed much since she'd left and his breathing came quickly as he recognized the forest she'd painted on her walls. The purple flowers and streams of sunlight. Kylo removed his glove and ran his bare fingers over the paint and a shuttering breath instantly came over him as a memory ripped through him. Her fear of the space, how it reminded her of . . . She'd painted these walls to try and forget her pain and fear.

Kylo's eyes turned to the lines of marks beside the door. He did not dare to touch them, afraid of what he would see and feel. He knew what they were, of course; he'd plucked the information from FN-2187's mind. The Supreme Ruler finally turned back and faced the other man.

"Take your helmet off," he said.

The stormtrooper hesitated but did as he was ordered and Kylo could see the nervous sweat beading on the man's forehead. He felt the stormtrooper's fear of him—of Kylo's intentions towards Rey. 2187 couldn't even contact her to warn her about the Supreme Ruler's arrival. He thought Kylo was there to finish her off.

"I assure you, I wish no harm upon Reyna," he said patiently, searching eagerly through the other man's memories. He and Reyna had had an instant almost familial connection. Kylo reached out and FN-2187 flinched but did not back away as Kylo almost stroked the other man's temple, nearly reveling in the happy memories of her as if they were Kylo's own.

 _It wasn't enough. He needed more of this._

Kylo leaned in close to the wide-eyed man, but it wasn't the stormtrooper that interested him. _Rey_ . . . she smiled and laughed and Kylo's eyes slid shut as he lived the memories vicariously. But there was something else.

An image flashed through 2187's mind. He recognized Kylo—not from the holonet, but somewhere else . . . He'd seen the Supreme Ruler's face before. She'd _painted_ him.

"Who is this, Rey?"

Her voice was a sorrowful whisper. " _A nightmare."_

Kylo had to force himself to stop—for now anyway. He pulled away from the panting and shell-shocked FN-2187, but left his hands where they were. This 'trooper wanted to be an officer and he was more than competent enough to receive such a recommendation. An intelligent attache was always needed and Kylo had little intention of letting his best lead slip through his fingers.

"You are being relieved of your duty here," he said and 2187 tried to jerk away, his hand coming up to Kylo's arm.

"But—But sir—" 2187 stuttered out, clearly upset at being removed from the service.

Kylo held on for a second longer before finally pulling his fingers away and breaking the connection. "You will be remanded to my ship and promoted to ensign. You will report directly to me."

The man's jaw dropped open. "I—I—Sir! Thank you!"

Kylo smiled. "Your first order is to get me every scrap of information from the remote office pertaining to the light exemplar and bring it to me."

2187 was apparently intelligent enough to have put the pieces together, but he still denied the truth. "Light—but Rey isn't—"

Kylo cut him off quickly. " _She is._ She is the one I have been searching for and you . . . You will help me find her."

'87 wouldn't meet his eyes but his face was conflicted. "You aren't . . . going to hurt her?" he asked as though the answer would make any difference. Kylo could force the man to do whatever he asked. But this was Reyna's friend and he would be useful in gaining her trust later.

"She will be treated as a queen," he murmured, "I give you my word."

FN-2187 nodded uncertainly and Kylo walked past him.

 _My Knights . . ._

The group of darkly clad men and women stood outside by the time he exited the dilapidated building. 2187 stumbled a bit at the sight of them but kept his nerve well enough. He'd become to used to Knights soon enough.

"The light exemplar is not here. She has disappeared into the empire without an ID chip. We can not allow our enemies to know we are searching for her. All transmissions have already been jammed over the planet and there is no communication. Erase our presence here from everyone in the town, and when you finish . . . Find her."

* * *

Sorry this took a bit longer. School was a bear this week and I have finals next week. I also re-wrote this chapter twice so it took a bit longer. Hopefully the final product is okay. :)


	19. Chapter 19

Rey watched the world beyond the viewport with hooded eyes. She leaned against the headboard of her bed as the fluttering blue of the sea lulled her into a sense of tranquility. It was the last thing she needed, really, but the calm was soothing. Her canvases were untouched and she hadn't left the ship, even when they were docked, in days. She knew Kord was worried about her, and Rey felt herself slowly breaking down. The nanites covered up much of the physical symptoms, but there was no denying the lethargy and fatigue that was beginning to set in.

And she could feel it . . . the darkness that had kept its distance on the other plane. When her guard had been down during that dream of _him,_ it had connected with her and she could feel it even now in the back of her mind, brushing her thoughts. Rey hadn't dared to return to the other plane in days, fearful of leaving herself vulnerable again.

But Poe . . . Home . . . she would never find Earth if she did not return there.

The planet she was on was a pretty ocean world with an amphibious species that had called on Kord to construct the debut gown of the crown princess. It was exactly the type of place Rey had been excited to visit, but she could barely muster up the energy to get out of bed.

She managed to muster a smile when the occasional bit of sea life swam by, but eventually she allowed her eyes to slide shut as she floated back into the other plane. She was wary and kept her guard up, but the darkness was nowhere near and she breathed a sigh of relief.

Her hand came up and suddenly she was ensconced in a familiar feeling.

"Caserian . . ." she whispered with a sigh. "What are you doing here?" she asked, though, of course, there was no answer forthcoming.

Had he been here waiting for her this whole time? She could not be sure, but somehow she knew that he had. Tears welled up in her eyes as she sank down onto the bottomless floor. He followed her down and she allowed herself to simply wallow in his presence. While she'd only stayed away a few days, he would have been alone for _hundreds of years_ on this plane.

"Why did you wait?" she asked and she felt a gush of pain at the idea that he'd been there all this time waiting for her to return. She felt no anger or accusation from him, but comfort and she wished for a second that he was real.

This man had frightened her—had made her jump at every shadow on every world, and she was wishing he was with her. She'd most likely never see the Knight again. Everything she did was done with the sole purpose of staying hidden.

She still needed to find Poe, and she finally pulled together enough energy to get back up, intent on the knot of threads, but Caserian didn't follow her as he normally did. He pulled away and she turned back.

"What's wrong?" she asked but he moved further from her in response and this time she followed him. He moved slowly through the threads until he came to a halt and the mist curled around a single one—one she recognized.

"That's 2187," she said, blinking slowly.

She'd found '87's thread long ago and sometimes she would simply hold onto it in order to feel the other man. Rey reached out, the tip of her finger brushing the thread and she pulled away with a gasp as if burned.

"No . . ." she said as she took a step back.

She'd seen what '87 saw, seen what he was feeling. His mind was consumed by the darkness and he'd accepted it into himself. Rey looked off into the distance and even as she stood there, she could see that the thread wasn't where it should have been. It did not lead to Ord Canfre. It lead deeper into the empire and she turned back to Caserian.

"He's . . . what happened?"

The Knight curled around her again and she knew what he wanted. He wanted her thread—he wanted to find her again. She was tempted to give in. He was no threat to her, she could tell, but she didn't know why he wanted to find her again.

"I can't," she whispered, because no matter that he comforted her for the decades she'd spent on this other plane and helped her retain her sanity. He was still a Knight of Ren. He still served the Supreme Ruler. Rey said as much with a grimace.

"I need to find Poe's thread, but I'm just so tired," she said.

His presence was a silent comfort and she stayed there for years working up the energy to get back up again. Threads moved and bobbed around her, changing constantly as life itself changed and evolved.

Many threads moved by her—around her and through her and she was never tempted to touch any of them. To truly interact with a thread was to know someone with indescribable intimacy. '87's thread had called to her, welcomed her but it was the only one that ever had—until now. A single thread came to her, and it slowed as it stayed near. She blinked at it for several months but it never moved. The Knight slipped away from her and the thin light mist curled around it, beckoning her.

She shook her head but he was insistent. It was clearly not Poe's thread as it lead to the wrong knot and her eyes narrowed.

"This is . . . your thread," she said softly.

Why would the Knight wish for her to see it, touch it? Was that how he planned to find her? But no . . . he could not see her mind through such a connection. She could only see his.

Rey reached out and plucked the thread so that she only touched it the barest of seconds, but it was enough.

She saw his mind, felt him calling her.

"Please," he whispered. "Please let me find you again. I would help you—in any way you desire."

She wanted to ask him why, but she couldn't.

"You need help—protection. You will be found soon enough, and then there will be no escape."

Found by who, she wanted to ask but the connection was broken. If someone was looking for her . . . perhaps she hadn't been as careful as she'd hoped and she'd been detected somehow.

Rey held her hand out but didn't pluck the thread again. The essence of Caserian curled around her fingers as she steeled herself and finally rose to her feet. If he was right, she needed to finish her task. She needed to find Poe, needed to buy her ship, needed to get back to Earth.

As she walked, she felt other Knights come towards her in curiosity but they were always seemingly banished from her side—all but Caserian. Perhaps he was responsible for that, though she couldn't be came to the folded knot that she'd been working through the last few times and set to work again.

Rey wondered absently how long she'd been doing this. Decades at least, burying her hands into the knots and picking them apart nearly one by one. Had Kylo Ren really done this as well? Had he spent decades—even centuries on this plane on top of his already long life looking for the light exemplar? Perhaps that's why he'd been so angry then. If he'd spent so long looking only to be confronted with the wrong person, an already bad situation would have been just that much worse.

She still wasn't sure if she regretted what she'd done or not.

* * *

Kylo ran a finger down '87's temple and cheek as the other man slept off the aftermath of their latest session. The former 'trooper had been a welcome addition to his retinue. 2187 was a competent officer and assistant to him, and whenever the Knight felt himself slipping a bit, he could call upon the new officer to . . . assist him. The Supreme Ruler leaned back away from '87 and lounged on the sofa as he too came down from the high of the Force connection.

His Knights were out combing the galaxy for the exemplar, sniffing out the chagrian who had taken her like hounds after prey. It had only been a short time since he'd left Ord Canfre and so he did his best not to overthink the fact that he'd received no news as to her whereabouts. It was a big empire after all. Trillions of sentients inhabited the galaxy and sifting through all of them to simply find one was a tall order.

His comm chimed and his eyes slid open. He hadn't realized that he'd closed them, but he sighed and begrudgingly got up and went to his desk.

"Yes?" he asked quietly.

Hux's voice was on the other end. "A ship without identification codes has requested clearance to dock with Ameron Station."

Kylo's head tilted. Ameron was military station that was not open to civilians. The _Defender_ along with the _Finalizer_ and several other ships were docked for repairs and maintenance. Hux would not be notifying him unless he needed the Supreme Ruler to check the vessel, himself. He reached out and felt the ship, but there was no one there—at least not that he could sense.

The Knight snorted. "Allow the ship to dock and escort the pilot to me immediately."

Hux didn't hesitate. "Yes, sir."

 _How long had it been,_ he wondered, _since the last time they'd met?_ Years . . . More than a decade—far longer than Kylo had sentenced him. But then, his apprentice had always been so disinterested in everything, including returning to the fold. Why would he show his face now, though? Kylo didn't have to wait long. Perhaps fifteen minutes passed before his door chimed and he called for the person to enter.

Kylo was still seated beside his passed out ex-'trooper when Caserian Ren entered. The Knight gave the customary bow, though far more shallow than any other would risk. The Supreme Ruler raised a brow. Not much had changed then. He watched the Knight carefully, looking for any hint as to why he'd returned, but all he could see was the slight furrow in the Knight's brow as his gaze landed on FN-2187, before it finally swung back to Kylo.

Caserian had changed little in the years since they'd last met, though his bearing was perhaps slightly straighter. Still, even with that small improvement, he still looked . . . unkempt, as though he could not be bothered to patch his own clothes let alone replace them since his banishment. He'd let his hair grow as well, and it was pulled back away from his face into a high ponytail.

None of this surprised Kylo in any way. Caserian had always preferred to move through people unseen and unnoticed, and so what did he care about his appearance? The Supreme Ruler was only grateful that Caserian at least kept up with personal hygiene. He remembered having to remind the Knight of such things when he'd been young.

"Have you come to finally beg for forgiveness?" Kylo asked, breaking the silence.

He took some small bit of satisfaction in the way Caserian's jaw tightened. "And why would I do that?" the Knight asked, his tone more serious than Kylo had ever heard before.

"Perhaps you've grown tired of living apart from the rest of us? A decade of solitude would wear on anyone." If anything Caserian seemed baffled by the concept, but then he'd never enjoyed the company of anyone, even Kylo—not after all that had happened.

The Knight was quiet for a moment before he spoke again. "I've come to request a separation from the Knights, not to rejoin," he said.

Kylo was up like a shot and the sound of shattering glass could be heard. "What did you say? How _dare_ you!"

Caserian did not show any fear and instead looked Kylo in the eye. "I've never amounted to much, anyway. I think you'll hardly notice my absence—no one ever has," the man said with a hint of dark mirth.

He'd clearly underestimated how deeply the young Knight still felt about what had happened at the Academy. "I would have thought that by now you would have grown up and moved past this—this need of yours to lash out at everything. You are my apprentice you ungrateful child!"

"My decision has nothing to do with what happened then and it has nothing to do with you. In my travels these last few years, I've had plenty of time to think. While I may be a Force-user, I was never much for organized religion, and I've grown tired of serving a mandate that I never chose for myself."

Kylo resisted the urge to go after his errant apprentice with his saber. " _Chose_ . . .?" he repeated incredulously. "You could have been— _should_ have been one of the strongest of us if you weren't so Force-damned _lazy!"_

Caserian shrugged, completely unapologetic. "That was never an ambition of mine. I told you as much when you removed me from the Academy."

Kylo remembered things quite differently as he cast a withering look. "The answer is 'No'."

The Knight glared at his master. "Why?"

Kylo tilted his head. "There is still greatness in you. I won't allow you to throw everything away."

Caserian sighed tiredly as though he'd expected this disappointment—as though _Kylo_ was the disappointment. "I've fulfilled your punishment, master—more than you bestowed!"

He had. The Knight had only been ordered to stay away a few years, but he'd kept his isolation far longer out of pure stubbornness. "Then return to us—return to _me . . ._ apprentice."

The Knight shook his head again. "Why will you not understand? I don't want to be a Knight! I don't want to steal children—"

During Caserian's tirade, Kylo felt his eyes narrow. Something . . . something was wrong with his apprentice. While Caserian had never enjoyed his punishment as a collector, he'd never cared enough—about _anything_ —to put up much of a fight either. Something had clearly changed for the younger man.

"What has happened?" he asked, cutting the Knight off.

Caserian blinked in confusion. "What?"

"I know you—I know you better than you know yourself and _something has happened._ You would not stand before me asking for anything, much less your freedom if something hadn't changed."

His apprentice shook his head. "No. That's not it—"

Kylo stepped closer. "Do not lie to me Caserian. You have always been so self-involved that unless you are affected directly, nothing would ever catch your attention. But something has, hasn't it." It wasn't a question and Caserian would not meet his eyes, making Kylo all the more angry. "Or _someone,"_ he added.

The Knight seemed to shrink in on himself. "Please," he said softly. "Release me and you'll never hear from me again."

Kylo approached his apprentice, his steps predatory. His apprentice had no need to break from the Knights for a mere lover, which meant that he did not think Kylo would approve of his choice. He circled the younger man and came to a stop behind him before leaning in. "I will not," he whispered.

Caserian's eyes slid shut and Kylo saw his hand twitch towards his saber, but he was not nearly fast enough to do anything before Kylo had a hand around his neck. The Supreme Ruler slammed his apprentice into the wall, pinning him there. Caserian did not try to claw at him as his airflow was restricted.

"You've neglected your training, apprentice," he said easily. "Perhaps if you hadn't acted like an errant child in need of correction, you might have had a chance to defeat me."

Caserian said nothing, of course, merely glared at him as his cheeks turned red.

"What's going on?" a tired voice asked from behind him.

Kylo turned and found 2187 watching them with a quizzical look on his face. "I'm carrying out a punishment, '87. Go back to sleep," he said, using a bit of compulsion in the last sentences. '87 nodded before dropping off again and Kylo finally released Caserian. The Knight fell to the ground but he had far too much dignity to choke and gasp for breath.

Kylo turned away, but halted when the Knight's rough voice sounded. "I am no longer a child and you have _never_ been my father," he said.

The Supreme Ruler wanted to turn around and shake the _infant_ that even now struggled to his feet. He remembered the boy-child who'd been so miserable at the academy—remembered hearing the silent pleas for escape through the Force. He remembered lifting the dying boy out of that dark hole of despair, and carrying him away as a tear-stained face was buried in his robes.

Was that boy but a memory? Had it only been his own dream to see Caserian become the powerful lord that the Force had _promised_ him? No . . . perhaps his apprentice had simply not found the motivation to be rise above. But, he'd found the motivation to do _something,_ and that . . . Kylo could work with that. He would see just how far Caserian was willing to go for this newfound goal of his.

"I've a mission for you Caserian," he said.

"I just told you—"

"I will give you your freedom if you complete it."

That silenced the younger man and he heard Caserian swallow before asking, "What would you have me do?"

The Supreme Ruler smiled. "The light exemplar is within the empire. Find her."

"Within . . . but she . . .?"

Kylo sat back down on the sofa and watched his apprentice. "I let my emotions cloud my judgment, and now the exemplar is running loose within the empire."

The Knight's eyes flickered with something and Kylo was tempted to go to him, to breach Caserian's mind and find out everything that his apprentice held back. But to do so would undermine his goal of bringing Caserian back, and he would lose the Knight. He might have despised Caserian's apathy, but his apprentice wasn't even a hundred years old yet. There was still plenty of time for him to grow out of this rebelliousness.

Caserian turned to leave but paused when Kylo spoke again. "If you fail, you will return to me."

The Knight swallowed but continued on and the door shut behind him. Kylo pulled '87 closer to him and rested his cheek on the officer's head. His apprentice would fail, of course, and Kylo would not allow him to run anymore.

* * *

Sorry this took a little extra time. This is actually a brand new chapter that I wanted to add to flesh out some of Caserian's history with the Knights and Kylo. Also, just in case it isn't clear, time moves differently on the other plane. I know I've said it a couple of times in the story, but I still received feedback from a couple of confused readers. So, I just wanted to reiterate it here that time does move more slowly there and years can pass in the space of a few hours in the real world.


	20. Chapter 20

_Twenty minutes,_ she thought. Twenty minutes until they arrived back at Takodana and the trip would be over. It also meant she only had twenty more minutes to call 2187, before she was prohibited.

She bit her lip in uncertainty. She'd been thinking a lot lately about 2187—ever since the flash of his mind that she'd gotten in the other plane. She hadn't been able to tell much about where he was, other than that he wasn't on Ord Canfre, but he was with someone who was immersed in the dark side . . .

 _Was he really alright?_ she wondered. Could she risk calling him? Kord had assured her that the comm would be untraceable while they were in hyperspace, but then why was he with this dark Force-user? It had to be one of the Knights of Ren, but again . . . _why?_

She sat in front of the comm unit for a few more minutes before taking a steadying breath and typing in '87's comm codes. If he was available, it would connect, no matter where he was. She waited as the connection was made and despite her trepidation, she could not help but smile broadly as he appeared before her.

"'87, I'm so glad I caught you this time," she said, deciding to err on the side of caution. Someone could be listening.

He grinned back at her. "Me too, Rey. How are you?" '87 asked.

2187 didn't seem any different. His expression was open and inviting, just as it had always been. Rey remembered when Caserian had taken control of her body. It had been nothing like what she was seeing with 2187.

"Really good! I'm finishing up that trip I told you about and we'll be back at the commune soon," she began hopefully.

"Yeah? That's great, Rey I hope you had a good time," he said and she caught a hint of anxiousness in his tone.

"It was . . . it was good, '87," she said

"So . . . where exactly did you go?"

Rey leaned back in her chair a bit. "Oh, you know. Here and there. Wherever my ride needed to go."

"Any place I've heard of?" he asked again and she narrowed her eyes

"Um . . . maybe . . ." Rey looked over towards the clock before looking back at '87. "Listen I've got to go but I'll comm you in a couple of weeks, alright?" she said hurriedly.

"Rey—" he began but she shut the connection down and simply stared at the blank screen. Caserian had been right. Someone was after her and they had '87 now. The stormtrooper hadn't seemed injured, but then would she really be able to tell? She didn't even fully understand all the power that came with being a Force-user, much less a dark-sider.

Her fist clenched as the ship trembled a bit and dropped from hyperspace. The green and blue planet of Takodana came into view and she watched as the vessel came closer, flying over the streaks of land and sea as it headed for the landing pads outside of Maz's bar.

She hadn't seen the little sentient in a month and after everything with the other plane, Caserian, and now '87, she really needed to talk to someone who understood. Kord could only advise her so much when it came to the Force.

The ship landed with a slight thump and she got up. Her bags and supplies were already packed and ready to be carried off the ship, but Rey left them in her room. Kord was coming down the hall from the cockpit when Rey stepped out.

The twi'lek eyed her. "Happy to be back?" she asked diplomatically and Rey knew her friend was still walking on eggshells around her.

Still, she smiled and nodded. "Yeah, sorry I had that . . . whatever that was—-" _Breakdown,_ Rey's mind whispered. _The word you're looking for is 'breakdown'._ "But that last batch of paintings was sort of cathartic, and I'm doing better now . . ."

Kord put a hand on her arm. "You know you can talk to me—about anything. I'm here," she said and Rey smiled sadly. Kord had signed up to be her friend, not to have to deal with her seething pile of neuroses.

But the twi'lek only tightened her hand. "My friendship isn't conditional," she said as though reading Rey's mind. The Earth girl looked at her for a moment before nodding and Kord pulled her into a hug.

"Thanks," Rey whispered.

"Every time," Kord said in response before brushing a soft kiss over Rey's lips.

Rey swallowed and did her best to remember that kissing on the lips in twi'lek culture did not necessarily equal romantic intent, just a really close relationship. She smiled and returned the gesture making Kord laugh.

"Now you got it," she said, looping her arm through Rey's and the pair began walking towards the exit hatch.

"Do you mind if I meet you back at the commune? I want to talk to Maz real quick," Rey asked as they neared the door.

Kord nodded. "Sure, I'll have your stuff delivered to your place," she said easily.

Rey reached into her pocket and pulled out her key-pad before handing it over. "Here. I'll stop by your place when I get back." She would need to re-program her lock later to accept her ID chip.

Kord took the pad before reaching over and hitting the switches to open the hatch. "You'll need to get through Gilas first."

Rey blinked. "Gilas? We just saw him last week."

Kord turned to her and rolled her eyes. "Rey, do you not read your comuniques?"

She blinked again. "I mean—yes, _of course_ I do." She didn't. They always said the same thing. 'One of your pieces sold, Your money's been deposited. Keep it up.'

The twi'lek rolled her eyes skyward. "Force, Rey," she began in exasperation. "Your 'cathartic' collection, _The Sun, Moon, and Stars_ —it was a hit . . . _a big one."_

Rey was taken aback for a moment. That series was a limited one; only six paintings and were done when she'd been at her lowest, mentally, and they'd been rather monochromatic and dark—not at all like her usual style.

"Are you sure? I _just_ dropped them off," she said in confusion.

Kord snorted out a laugh. "You think he made the trip out here just to pat you on the back?"

No, she supposed he wouldn't. Gilas was all about time management, and he needed to be with a gallery and a commune to run. They stepped out onto the planet surface and sure enough Gilas was there beside one of the commune's speeders.

"Hey Gilas," she said casually.

"Hello Rey," he said with a nod, though she could see his eyes darting about, no doubt looking to see if there would be any more paintings materializing from the ship.

"What can I do for you?"

He seemed to catch himself, "Well, I wanted to talk to you about your last collection and about perhaps moving on to the next stage of your career."

She raised a brow and Kord was shooting her congratulatory looks. "Next stage?" she asked hesitantly

The chagrian nodded. "Well, I think you are finally established enough that we can work on introducing you to the public—"

That was the last thing she wanted. "I'd rather not."

He held his hands up in mock surrender. "I know you value your privacy and I'm not talking about plastering your picture all over the holonet, but your last collection is already completely sold—"

"All of it?" she asked incredulously.

He nodded again, his eyes serious. " _All of it,_ and your clients are eager to make the acquaintance of the Artist."

"Still using that name?" she asked.

Gilas shrugged. "I thought you'd prefer it, to be honest."

He was right. Something generic like the Artist was harder to trace. "Can't I just do some more paintings?" she asked, only a touch of whining in her tone.

He didn't seem impressed. "Of course you can, but now _really_ is the time to start building your profile up among the people who are going to _pay_ for your talent. You want them to remember you and want _your_ work rather than the knock-offs that have been making their way into the market."

Knock-offs . . . of her work. She tried to imagine such a thing, but in the end she shook her head. "Fine. When?"

"Next week," he said before his eyes slid over to the twi'lek. "Kord told me you'll only visit remote planets with a small population."

"Yeah," she said looking away.

"Don't worry Rey, we'll keep you well away from the Knights," Kord said encouragingly.

Gilas didn't seem surprised by any of it and she supposed he wouldn't be, after all she was painting people with lightsabers.

"I'll take care of the arrangements and send a ship to pick you up next week," he said, noting something down onto a datapad.

She turned to Kord. "Are you coming?"

The twi'lek shook her head. "No, I got a big order from that water princess so I'll be sewing till my knuckles bleed."

Rey raised a brow at Kord dramatics. The twi'lek didn't actually sew anything besides the basic construction. She had a studio inside her massive house where she used over a dozen protocol droids to hand stitch everything that way.

Gilas also looked at Kord. "I trust you'll have something for her to wear."

Kord laughed. "You think I would miss an opportunity to dress Rey for her big debut? Don't worry, I've got her covered," she said and he chagrian nodded.

Rey looked over towards Maz's bar. "I need to stop into the bar real quick, but I'll see you next week, alright?" she asked and Gilas nodded.

They said their goodbyes before going their separate ways. Rey enjoyed the walk to the palace—the green of the jungle and the sounds of the birds and water-ways that covered the planet. She nodded at many of the pilots that frequented the landing pads and waved at a few of the regulars. Maz's grand palace looked the same as it always had—as it probably had for the last few centuries. The doors opened easily and she stepped inside the welcoming, albeit noisy bar. There was quite the crowd going and music bounced around the space. She looked around for a few seconds before finally spotting an empty table. Rey didn't order anything and simply waited for Maz to eventually come to her.

"You know, at some point you will need to find yourself a true teacher," Maz said from behind her.

Caserian's face flashed in her mind. She might not harbor any ill-will towards the Knight anymore, but she still remembered his invasive actions quite vividly. "I don't want anyone rooting around in my head," she said as she watched the tiny sentient hop up into the chair opposite her.

Maz wasn't put off. "You stop that from happening by learning from someone skilled in defense—but you know that already, don't you?"

Rey was well aware that _if_ she wanted to learn more or become stronger she would certainly need someone to teach her, but the point that no one ever seemed to grasp was that she _didn't_ want to learn more about the Force—or any of it.

She changed the subject. "I've been visiting the plane often like you showed me and looking for Poe, and I think that I . . . I made myself vulnerable to the darkness there. I had this—this dream about . . . well it doesn't matter who it was about, but when I woke up things were _floating through the air_ and ever since then . . ."

"What?" Maz asked gently.

Rey looked around before pointing at a spice shaker on the table. She didn't have to concentrate hard before the thing slid across the surface towards Maz.

The little sentient pushed it around with her mind as well before smiling and looking back up at Rey. "Well, now, you _are_ progressing. I'm impressed."

Rey grimaced. "I don't want you to be impressed, because that's not even the important part."

"Then what is?"

She bit her lip, hesitant to even put into words what she'd been feeling. "Since the dream, I—I can feel something in my mind. It's cold and dark and it keeps trying to latch on to my consciousness . . . my thoughts."

The sentient nodded. "We all have darkness within our minds—"

"That is _not_ what I'm talking about, and you _know_ it."

Maz tilted her head but didn't seem offended. "What is it that you'd like me to do about it?" she finally asked.

Rey sighed. "I know—I know you can't just fix it, but there has to be a way to push it back out—to block it from ever coming back."

The little sentient shook her head. "I do not think you will ever be rid of it now, child. It is part of you. The other half of you."

On the list of things she _hadn't_ wanted to hear during this conversation, that was just about at the top. "I'm not ready for that," she said honestly, and she wasn't. It was all just too much, too fast.

Maz reached over and gently patted her hand. "I'm sorry I can't help you, Rey, but I think I can help you a bit more with your search instead," she said gently

Rey looked up, "You can?"

She nodded. "Your connection to the Force is much stronger than it was the last time you were here. _The Knight_ opened your mind, and now it can handle learning something new." Maz leaned forward and removed her goggles, "Look into my eyes, child."

Rey did and felt the thread of connection between she and Maz tighten. "What is that?" she asked in confusion as images—memories that weren't hers—passed through her mind.

"That is me. Follow the thread back and enter my mind."

Rey's eyes did not blink as she leaned forward over the table. "I can—I can _feel_ you."

The little sentient nodded. "Yes . . . Now tell me my thoughts."

Rey searched through Maz's mind and picked up not only her thoughts but also things the other wanted her to _know._

"You—you think I'm important for some reason but you won't reveal why," she said softly, sadly.

"Because you aren't ready for that responsibility. Not yet," Maz said as she pulled away from the connection and Rey slumped back into her chair.

"I don't want to be important," she mumbled almost petulantly and Maz laughed.

"Child, the Force—your destiny—is calling to you. Just let it in."

Rey shook her head. "I'm not interested in this being a mouthpiece for the Force. Let someone else do it," she said as she got up.

"Rey—"

But Rey didn't hear anymore as she walked away and left the bar. As she approached the doors, she was so consumed with her own thoughts that she did not notice them open before her as if by their own volition.

* * *

"I'm sorry, sir. I don't know what happened," 2187 said, looking anywhere but at the Supreme Ruler.

Kylo came around the comm unit and eyed his new ensign. "She knew something was wrong and now she will be wary of you."

"My apologies," the other man said before getting up.

The Supreme Ruler sighed. He'd been so close—he'd _heard her voice,_ but he had no way of getting to her. Any overt move on his part was sure to send her scuttling deeper into hiding. "Get out of that armor and report back, '87," Kylo said firmly.

The officer nodded and left the room just as Hux was entering. He'd have watched the whole thing from the adjacent room.

The general was not well known for his patience. "We should circulate her picture through the empire and flush her out," he said firmly.

Kylo shook his head. "No. If it is known that she is important to us, one of our enemies might get to her first—And I won't have her branded a criminal, either."

Hux grimaced. "It will be far more difficult to find her if no one is looking for her."

The Knight turned away. "We have time, general. The exemplar is alive and in good health—and she is within my domain."

"And how long before you begin wearing your mask again?" Hux asked almost sneering at the idea.

A smug grin that was all teeth pulled at his lips. "I'm _inside_ her now. Her mind brushed mine and I am with her always as she is with me. It's how I know she's still alive. I will give her time to enjoy the empire. It will make the transition easier."

Hux smiled in malicious glee. "Yes, ideally you and she will have a better go of it the second time around, and you won't be in the med bay screaming your head off."

"I did not—" Kylo started loudly before cutting himself off and beginning again in a more controlled tone, "I did not _scream._ And if you think it's so amusing, I'll procure more of that hellish liquid from her planet and you can give it a try."

"I'll pass on that, thank you," Hux said, his voice deadpan.

Kylo snorted. "You would refuse a gift from your ruler?"

"Only if I am unworthy, great one," the general said with an exaggerated bow. The door slid open again to reveal 2187 back in his officer's uniform. Hux took that as his cue. "If you'll excuse me, I have a raid to plan," he said before adding. "And do not forget to comm my mother. She misses you."

Kylo sighed. He really did need to make an appearance at Lady Hux's next gala. He'd intended to see her next with the light exemplar on his arm, but unless Reyna magically fell into his lap in the next few weeks, he would be showing up empty-handed after being gone for a year. It was seemingly the bane of the lady's existence that neither Kylo nor her own son, Armitage were married.

He put the whole thing from his mind as he looked over at 2187. Kylo pulled off his glove and tilted his head. "Come here," he said to the young officer.

2187 hesitated only a fraction of a second before moving forward. He knew the ex-'trooper still felt guilt for what he was doing, as though it was a betrayal of the light exemplar, but Kylo was quick to reassure him. How could it be a betrayal to assist the one person who cared about Reyna more than any other?

Kylo allowed his pleasure at 2187's decision to be felt by him and the corners of the officer's mouth turned up slightly. When he was close, Kylo reached up and rested his hand on the other man's cheek and temple. He allowed himself to take a deep breath and for his eyes to slide shut as he entered 2187's mind. The Supreme Ruler sifted through the memories, searching for his favorite.

"'87, this can't be how you want to spend your day off," she said as she stroked a crude brush over her wall. She was crouched on the floor, painting in the delicate purple flowers from her memory. Her hair was tied back into three little buns and there was paint smudged on her forehead from where she had wiped her brow. Music played from a small device in the window sill and she bobbed her head to the beat every once in awhile.

"I like watching you paint," 2187 responded and he did, apparently as many of his memories were of just the two of them keeping one another company while she painted. It wasn't an interesting memory or noteworthy except for one thing—she smiled more here than in any other.

He stayed within the memory for what felt like hours and he indulged in the fantasy that it was Kylo that she smiled at and not the ex-'trooper. The Supreme Ruler eventually had to pull away and 2187 nearly collapsed on the floor. Kylo caught him and gently lowered the semi-conscious man onto a sofa in the back of the room. It was taking less and less time for '87 to recover from these connections as his mind built up a tolerance. Kylo was careful not to take it too far, though, and 2187 took slow even breaths as he blinked back into the waking world.

Kylo put his glove back on before sitting beside the other man. "Thank you . . . my friend."

The ex-trooper nodded minutely and Kylo sat there with him until he was recovered.

* * *

Yay! I managed to get this up on time! I'm out of school for the next few weeks so hopefully I can get things up on Fridays again, at least for a while. Sorry I know this chapter is kinda filler, but I needed to establish some stuff here before the next couple of chapters so you wouldn't be like, "wtf, when did _that_ happen?" I did also want to add that we're about half-way through the story(text wise), at least according to the scroll-bar on my google-doc that I'm writing in. But I think this will clock in closer to 170-180K rather than 160K, because I've added nearly 25K words to just this first half as I've done revision and further fleshing out of scenes, so it's likely that another 20K will be added on the back half as well.


	21. Chapter 21

Rey kept the smile pasted onto her face as she spoke to Lady Poldek. It wasn't that she was unhappy to be speaking to the first lady of Doldur, but more that her face was hurting after three hours.

 _I thought people just came to these to look at the art, eat the food, feel good about themselves and leave,_ she thought. Perhaps that's how it was on Earth, but everyone here wanted to talk to Rey, and they all diligently waited their turn to speak to her one after another. They still ate the food and drank the booze, and probably still felt good about themselves, but she was running low on steam at this point, because they all seemed to tell her the same thing and ask the same questions.

Lady Poldek was no different. She had been one of the first people to get one of Rey's paintings. One of her original Lover's Series— _The Wedding,_ she'd named it. It was a larger piece, but apparently the lady of Doldur had not been able to get her hands on another painting since.

"Really, my husband has been so lax on Doldur's annexation so I can't always come to Coruscant to get any new pieces," she said pitifully, before smiling, "But if perhaps you could convince Gilas to sent out missives ahead of time, I could make arrangements."

Rey's brows shot up. "Unfortunately, I have no say in how Gilas runs the gallery. I just provide the art," she said.

"Oh drat," the woman said.

"And beside," another voice cut in, "You wouldn't want to damage the gallery's reputation by having them play favorites, now would you Vinda?"

Rey looked to the side, as did Lady Poldek and they were not the only ones to stare at the newest guest to their little gathering. She didn't recognize the blonde woman right off hand, but that wasn't exactly rare. She had a look of quiet tranquility on her face as a servant pulled her crushed velvet cape away to reveal a lovely floor-length floral gown that flowed over her like water.

"Lady Hux," Gilas stuttered out from behind them and Rey blinked at the familiar name. This was the woman that Kord had spoken about—one of Kylo Ren's allies and the person who had financed his first fleet of ships. She moved forward, bringing a stark physical contrast between herself and the other attendees. Not only was her stature regal, but her embellished gown would have looked like she was trying too hard on anyone else, but it just looked like a second skin on Lady Margolin Hux.

Rey had, at first felt more than a bit out of place with her own sheer gown brushing the ground around her ankles, while the other ladies had on tea or knee-length dresses, but Kord's words sprung up in her mind and she suddenly understood.

She had been looking at the dress with more than a touch of trepidation. "Kord, this is too much. Even _I_ know no one wears long dresses," she'd said.

But the twi'lek had shaken her head. " _Trust me,_ long dresses are about to become _the_ thing," she'd said.

 _Was one woman really capable of moving trends like that?_ Rey couldn't be sure, but Vinda Poldek looked like she would have rather been consumed by rathtars than find herself in the cross-hairs of the elegant Lady Hux.

"Of course, not, Lady Hux. My apologies for the misunderstanding." Lady Poldek turned to Rey abruptly. "I'm afraid I've had a bit too much champagne and need some air. It was lovely to meet you and I hope to buy another of your pieces at a later date."

With that she'd scurried off, leaving Rey blinking in her wake as Lady Hux came to her side.

"What a curious creature," she said and Rey's gaze moved back to meet the lady's. _She hadn't been talking about Lady Poldek._

Rey swallowed and she could see all the other guests attempting to look like they were talking to one another while practically leaning in the hear whatever was being said. Gilas's blue skin had gone pale as he made agitated faces from the back of the room.

Alright, so Lady Hux was just that important.

A dark-haired young man dressed in slightly over-done finery stood with her, and at first Rey had thought this was another servant, but then the man had put an arm around the lady's waist and Rey flashed back to Kord's talk about the blonde woman's new lover. She'd said that the he was younger than Lady Hux's son, Armitage. Though Lady Hux didn't look older than her early thirties and her lover looked roughly the same age, so how one could tell was beyond Rey.

"I'm pleased you could attend my showing," she said instead of addressing the lady's earlier statement.

A slow smiled formed on the woman's face. "Well I simply _had_ to come when I heard that you were . . . human. Gilas has never worked with a human artist before," she said, her eyes gliding over Rey's form and Rey could feel . . . appreciation coming from her.

She took a steadying breath. "Yes, I—I was surprised about that as well to find out it wasn't common."

This caused the lady to blink. "You mean you didn't know?"

Rey shook her head. "I'm actually from a planet outside the empire. We haven't even left our system yet."

"Then how, may I ask, did you come to be here?" Lady Hux asked, her eyes searching and interested.

"That's kind of a long story," Rey said, hedging just as Gilas had told her to.

The lady's brows rose as she smiled. "Ah, and we haven't time for such things here, I suppose. Well, if I'm not mistaken, your gown is one of Kord Mondrechia's."

Rey blinked at the abrupt change in conversation. "Yes—yes it is."

Lady Hux tilted her head consideringly. "The last time I saw Kord, she told me her friend Rey was traveling with her. That was you, I assume."

Rey nodded, unsure.

The lady nodded as though she'd already known the answer to her own question . . . and perhaps she had. "Well, Kord will be coming to visit my home in two months time. I hope you will accompany her and then you can tell me _all about it."_

Rey got the distinct impression that this wasn't a request. "I will do my very best—"

"Of course you will, and I would have you meet my son, Armitage. He visited me last week, and I was . . . quite surprised that he seemed rather taken with your work."

 _Oh . . ._

"Well, I would be honored, of course—" Rey began diplomatically while internally screaming that there was _no way_ she was going anywhere near a warmonger like Armitage Hux—or more specifically, his kidnapper douchebag of an apparent best friend.

"Yes, I expect so," Lady Hux said, cutting Rey off, before her expression turned considering. "Have you a lover?"

Rey, who had been strategically taking a drink of her champagne, promptly choked on the liquid, and she let out a rather unlady-like cough. She blinked rapidly, looking for _someone_ to get her out of this situation, but Gilas looked like he was having a stroke and no one else would dare interrupt Lady Hux's conversation.

"I—I mean . . . I don't?" The last part came out as more of a questions and she cursed herself for not just blurting out a name— _any name._

"Ah, wonderful news," the woman said, nodding to her own lover who inclined his head in acknowledgement as though some great question had been answered satisfactorily. Her smile widened as she looked back at Rey. "Anyway, I simply had to come and meet you in person. I have several of your works and would love to discuss them with you, as well as perhaps . . . commissioning other pieces," she said.

Rey was hardly surprised at the request. Lady Hux wasn't even the first person to bring it up at the party and so she smiled benignly. "I look forward to the conversation, but if you have any inquiries about my art, Gilas would be the person to speak to."

Lady Hux raised a perfect brow before letting out a small laugh like a bell. "Don't worry, my dear. Your agent will get his cut," she said before walking off towards the chagrian.

Rey felt herself slump a bit, but quickly righted her posture as the other guests hesitantly moved forward to once again attempt to speak with her. She watched as Lady Hux spoke to Gilas and the chagrian seemed to sweat inordinately as the interaction went on. Rey did her best to ignore what was going on and instead returned her focus to the people she was speaking to.

The hours continued to pass and she traded champagne for flavored water, and while there was slight fanfare when Lady Hux finally left, most drifted out slowly but surely. Rey smiled and thanked them all for coming.

"Did that go well?" she asked after the last one had left.

"Yes," he said without hesitation. "I had not been sure what exactly would happen when your species was revealed, but you received Lady Hux's approval so it won't matter what anyone else thinks. You're set for life."

Was it really that easy? "Does she _really_ have that much power?"

Gilas inclined his head. "More than you would think. She has the ear of the Supreme Ruler and heads one of the wealthiest and best connected families in the empire. She's practically an institution within the galaxy all by herself. The Huxes have their hands in all the pies," he said.

"And she came _here?"_ Rey asked, eyeing the small, but private little gallery that Gilas had chosen. They were currently on Togoria, a relatively untouched planet, lacking in the mega cities found on the core worlds, but rich in culture and their art scene was one of the best.

"I . . . I hadn't expected that, to be honest. I'd invited her of course, but Lady Hux rarely goes anywhere. Things come to her."

Rey had thought as much. "She asked me to come to her home in two months."

He nodded. "Yes, she mentioned as much to me. She also wants you to paint a portrait of her son."

"Her son?" She hadn't really thought to doing those sorts of commissions. There was a difference between true portrait art and her more stylistic aesthetic.

"She's willing to pay you ten thousand credits," he said and Rey nearly dropped her glass.

"Ten thousand?" she asked incredulously.

"That would be going to you. The full amount is twenty, which is quite reasonable, given the current prices associated with an 'Artist Original'."

Rey tried to imagine such a number. Twenty thousand was nearly enough to buy a decent ship all on its own and to drop that much on her art . . .

"Don't get that look on your face. Your work is famous the galaxy over and people will only pay what they think something is worth, and it's worth that to quite a few people."

Her lips curled up. "Thanks," she said and he nodded.

"Did you still want to go to the market?"

She nodded. "Of course. I need to buy a few new pigments, and besides, this festival looks fun."

 _Kylo Ren sure loved to throw a party for himself,_ she thought wryly. Well, perhaps that was a bit disingenuous as this was Togoria's own Celebration of Victory. The small cities that dotted the planet were in full party mode in honor of the liberation of their planet by the Supreme Ruler over the Yuuzhan Vong. She hadn't gotten far into that section on Caladon's data-pads, but from what she remembered coupled with what Kord had told her, an extragalactic species attempted to invade a few centuries back soon after Kylo took power over a group called the First Order. The Republic had fallen but the Order, lead by Kylo and the Knights of Ren coupled with an armada of ships built by the Huxes had succeeded in pushing the invaders back and out of the galaxy. Planets had flocked to the protection of the Order and the Correllian Empire had been born.

It was hard for Rey to imagine such a thing. Two hundred years ago, most people in her own country hadn't even had indoor plumbing or electricity. And Lady Hux—the same elegant _young_ woman who had stood before her only hours ago, had had a decisive hand in the creation of a _galactic empire._

Rey watched the goings-on of the people outside the small gallery space, and smiled at the idea that no matter what day it was, there seemed to always be a party _somewhere_ in the empire. The last week, she had painted a few more pieces but the most important thing on her mind was finding Earth. Rey reached out through the Force for her brother constantly, and he always seemed so close but something was blocking her. She didn't know if it was herself or if the Force felt that she wasn't ready to return.

She hadn't spoken to 2187 since that disastrous comm call, and Rey had contemplated going after her friend, finding him, perhaps rescuing him from whatever situation he'd found himself in. But as quickly as the idea had surfaced in her mind, it had faltered as well. She was not versed in any kind of subterfuge or weapons-use. '87 was an excellent fighter and leader. What could she possibly do to help him? She hoped he would forgive her but she could not take the chance that she would be pulled further from her goal. She was so close.

Rey sighed as she tried to put 2187 from her mind and attempted to stifle the guilt that welled up every time she pictured his face. Suddenly she felt like she was running out of air and she turned to Gilas.

"I need to get out of this dress," she said as she looked down at the gown she wore. Kord had really outdone herself, if Lady Hux's appraising glance was anything to go by. It was perhaps a bit more revealing than she was used to, but Kord had told her it was the height of Corellian Fashion to take pride in one's body. She had pulled her hair into her usual three buns descending down the back of her head and smoothed away the wispy curls. A few cosmetics were applied to complete her look with pinker lips and cheeks.

"Are you alright?" Gilas asked with a hand on her shoulder. His face was awash with concern and she did her best to smile and nod.

"I'm fine. Just need to get into something else and get some air," she said encouragingly.

Gilas nodded and the pair walked to the back room. "Kord sent along something . . . less flashy for you to wander about it."

More likely, the twi'lek had worried about the delicate lace of the gown being shredded as Rey walked through a crowded public market. She smiled though, and took the box he held out for her and went into the backroom of the gallery. The colorful gown slid off and was hung back up in the garment bag. What she found to replace it had her raising a brow. Oh it was less flashy, but what it lacked in loud prints and colors, it made up for austere design.

Rey didn't even bother shaking her head as she pulled the heavier clothing on and tucked everything into place. The Earth girl pulled a bag from her things that she could easily transport her purchases and walked out of the room. Gilas waited for her outside and he held out an arm for her and she took it with a smile. Rey wasn't terribly worried about anything happening but she'd never been to this planet before, and Kord had warned her that it could be a little rough around the edges.

"Ready to go?" he asked, taking the bag from her.

"Yes. Thank you again."

"It is my pleasure, my dear," the chagrian said with a short inclination of his head.

They walked through the stalls and Rey found a few different pigments that she was interested in trying. She also got the contact information for the vendors who had the best stuff. Gilas was never far from her, his horns making him easy to spot in the crowd. Rey was beside herself at everything there was to see.

Humans and sentients milled about, talking and laughing under the blue and green string lights that criss crossed all the streets. Colorful banners hung down from the roofs of many of the squat buildings proclaiming that this was a celebration for all. This was not her first festival—Kord seemed to thrive on them—but the atmosphere of these intergalactic celebrations never failed to get her heart racing.

They walked down the crowded street looking through shops and in windows. A few hours in, Rey was about to pass a junk shop when she stopped and turned towards the dark doorway. Something . . . something was _there._ The shop was off the main street and down towards the end of a side alley. She began walking forward as if being lead by the hand.

Gilas wrapped his fingers around her arm, stopping her. His brow was furrowed at her glazed over expression. "Rey, what's wrong?"

"I'm fine. There is something in there that I need," she said softly before turning back to face the shopfront.

He also looked towards it. "You want to go in _there?"_

She blinked several times before nodding. "Yes."

Gilas looked uncomfortable but didn't stop her again as she began walking towards the little shop at the end of the dirty alley. A faded sign over the entrance proclaimed the shop to be Bup's Antiques and Artifacts. The door didn't immediately slide open when she stood before it and it took her a second to realize that it was an old fashioned door with a swing hinge like they had on Earth. It had a curved top that hit a small chime as it opened.

The shop was musty and filled to the brim with items that even Rey could see had little value. But none of that mattered, really. She walked along the tight aisles of the small shop, her hand out and hovering over the cases and piles—for what purpose she still didn't know.

Until she stopped. She looked down towards the bottom of a dark and dusty display case. It was _there._

Unmindful of what could be hiding under the case, she got down on her knees and stuck her bare hand into the dark space, her fingers feeling around through cobwebs and rubbish. It was there, she _knew_ it was. She blinked into the darkness and could see the dull shine of something just beyond her reach. Her eyes narrowed and, in a small cloud of dust, the item launched itself into her hand.

Rey smiled in satisfaction as a small luggage trunk slid out from under the case. It was old with cracked leather and rusted hardware. She knelt down before it and felt around the sides until she found the crude locking mechanism and released it. The trunk did not snap open and she had to lift it up to see inside.

Thankfully nothing was _living_ in it. Her eyes moved over the junk that filled the small space. This . . . this couldn't be right. She brushed aside a few old books and worthless trinkets as she searched. Just as she was about to give up, her hand brushed against a cloth sack. _This!_ This was what she wanted!

Rey pulled the sack out from the trunk. The bag was falling apart at the seams but she could see that the cloth had a beautiful design embroidered on it. Geometric lines that ran along its length interspersed with scrolling flourishes that all came together at the center where a circular emblem of a star was cradled within a set of wings. It was nearly beyond repair but the detail work might be worth saving.

But the little sack wasn't what she had come for. She opened the top and allowed the item it carried to fall into her hand. It was a slightly curved cylinder of metal but it had a grip made of a material she could not readily identify. There was a scrolling pattern etched into the metal portions and it was solid on one side and hollow on the other. Unlike everything else in the shop, this item looked to be in pristine condition.

Gilas stood behind her eyeing the object. "What _is_ that?" he asked.

Rey closed the trunk and slid it back under the case before standing back up. "I don't know," she said honestly, but she had to have it.

The emblem on the sack reminded her of the imperial emblem with the wings but it was clearly not the same. Her fingers slid over the polished surface of the object and she tried her best to figure out why the Force wanted her to have this. Was she drawn to Togeria specifically to retrieve this?

Her fist clenched at the idea. How much free will did she really have, she wondered. Was everything an elaborate play and she was just a puppet dangling on a set of strings?

"Are you planning to buy something or just stand around?" a voice called from the back of the shop.

Rey blinked and contemplated dropping the object back into the rubbish and leaving. Her fingers trembled as she tried to let go of it. Her brow furrowed with effort. No, the object was hers. It was meant to belong to Rey. She could see Gilas in her periphery looking on in concern and she sighed before walking quickly to the back sales counter. A sentient that she recognized as a gran stood behind the counter looking towards her expectantly. She placed the object down on the counter.

"I want to buy this," she said briskly.

The gran did something of a double take at the object. He picked it up almost reverently. "You _found_ this?"

Rey nodded. "Yes and I want to purchase it."

The gran looked at her dubiously through its three eyes. "Surely a pretty girl like you wouldn't want something so dangerous," he said and she would have been offended if not for the searching look in his eyes.

 _Still_ . . . "Dangerous?" she asked eyeing the object again.

The gran's head tilted. "Girl, do you even know what this is?" he asked.

She blinked before shaking her head. "No," she said honestly. If it really was dangerous, better to know what it was.

"And yet you want it. It . . . _called_ to you?" the gran asked looking her over critically before his gaze slid to Gilas with suspicion.

Rey narrowed her eyes. "Will you sell it to me or not?"

The shop owner smiled. "Of course I will, this is a place of business after all. But I feel I should at least tell you what it is and how to use it lest you accidentally kill yourself or someone else."

He turned the cylinder over in his hand before pressing down over a raised area near the hollowed-out side. He held it away from himself and Rey, but she still flinched as it flared to life with blue light. A low humming noise emanated from the weapon that she recognized with a sinking feeling.

The gran was watching her, his three eyes never leaving her face. "You've seen one before," he said with surety.

It wasn't quite the same as Kylo Ren's. That one had been a fiery red and the . . . beam had crackled like the sun. This one was smooth, elegant, and glowed with an icy shade of blue.

"Lightsabers are created in the image of their masters," the shop owner said as though reading her mind.

"Lightsabers?" Gilas echoed from behind her and she heard him take a step back.

The gran smiled and seemed to enjoy how uncomfortable Gilas was. "This lightsaber was created and used by a Jedi Knight and is strong with the light side of the Force which is why it is blue."

She was almost mesmerized by the beautiful weapon and the longer she looked upon it, the more sure she became that she was meant to have it. But even through that, she could not help but ask, "And red? What about if the saber is red?"

"Red lightsabers are created by those who have given themselves to the darkside."

"They're evil?" she asked.

"No, girl . . . Not always, they simply follow a different path from the Jedi."

Gilas spoke up from behind her. "Rey, trust me you don't want any part of this. It's one thing to have some Force-sensitivity, but owning a _lightsaber_ . . . and one from the Jedi as well—that will draw attention to you that you _don't_ want."

Gilas was afraid, she could sense it curling from him in waves and she turned to reassure him. "I'm not going to go waving it around on Corellia and pretending to be some religious follower of the Jedi. I just . . . I _need_ that lightsaber."

Gilas didn't look happy but he didn't argue any further with her. Rey was well aware of her value to the commune and knew the other man would not force her out unless he had too. She smiled at her blue friend before turning back to the gran.

"How much?" she asked.

The shop owner powered the weapon down and placed it on the counter over the sad little sack it had come in. "Two hundred credits," he said evenly.

Her eyes widened. It was a lot of money.

"Don't look so surprised, girl. After the Jedi were destroyed almost all of their weapons were as well. Very few lightsabers remain and the only way to make them is a secret among the Force-users. And I'll throw this in for good measure, cause I like you."

He pulled out a book from beneath the counter. It was not large or thick but it was quite old and she hadn't seen many around. Paper goods were all but extinct and most people used data pads.

"The Jedi archives were destroyed but this is a journal kept by one of the padawans who died during the purge and he talks about the training he went through while learning. It may help you," he said, placing it on the counter.

She bit her lip but nodded and the gran held out a scanner with the amount listed on the bottom. She waved her hand over the small panel and checked her comm. It registered the 200 credit withdrawal.

The gran nodded and did not wrap up the lightsaber or book. He simply handed them over to her. She placed the items into her own bag and hesitated for a few seconds before letting go of the saber.

"Pleasure doing business with you," the gran said with a smile.

She nodded. "Thank you."

* * *

Just cause I know you guys will ask, that isn't Anakin's lightsaber. I know it would have been so easy to have her find that lightsaber in Maz's basement, but when I thought about it in the context of this story, it just didn't fit logically. I don't know how much of it will be explored later, but the dark exemplar wouldn't have had blue saber. His or hers would have been purple at best and it definitely wouldn't have called to the light exemplar.

Have a Happy Holiday!


	22. Chapter 22

Kylo's eyes slid open as he withdrew from the other plane. When he'd been informed that Reyna was visiting there often in search of something, he'd hardly believed it. Her end of their shared thread was still very much tangled within knot of the galaxy, but she was there nonetheless. He could not see her, of course—could not say anything to her, and she did not seem to notice his presence as he kept his distance. But there was one other there as well—the only one she allowed close to her. Caserian, Kylo's wayward apprentice. He hadn't heard from the younger man since their very brief meeting all those months ago, and the Supreme Ruler had had half a mind to reassign the Knights to tracking the apprentice after Reyna was found and secured on Corellia.

Though, it seemed that that was a moot point. With the way the apprentice clung to her presence, he would follow the light exemplar and return to Corellia without Kylo having to lift a finger. She seemed comfortable with the apprentice which would only help when Kylo came for her. She would have '87 and Caserian with her to keep her company . . . and to protect her.

 _She was searching for Earth_ , he thought gleefully. Someone had taught her how to access the Force plane and she was searching for her planet in the same manner that Kylo had employed to track her down the first time. He had several Knights working constantly, sorting through the threads of the galaxy in search of her. It was a nearly impossible feat to find her until she returned to her home world, but he had been keeping an eye on the cluster of that planet. Reyna could hide for months, _years_ within his empire but when she returned to Earth—when their shared thread separated from the galactic knot and rejoined with that backwater world, he would have her again.

He would not cease in his search, but in the end, there was no escape for the light exemplar and she would be handing herself back over to him with her own actions. In the meantime, there was still work to be done. The Resistance had gone noticeably silent since being soundly dispatched from a border planet they'd tried to occupy.

Kylo picked picked up the datapad and looked it over for a second time. It was part of their pattern to cease activity in preparation for a major assault. Hux had just finished securing Lhwekk and he was already on his way to Kylo's office to make his official report.

The Supreme Ruler felt his eyes involuntarily slide over the Reyna's tablet. Its flowery covering stood in stark contrast to the greys and glass of his office. It sat so innocently and yet it threw accusations at him with every glance. She should be _here_ —or at least living without cares or worries within the Imperial Palace. The tablet should be _with_ her, not sitting on his desk like pastel brick.

He glided a darkly gloved finger over the cover, lightly tracing the designs as he thought over the secrets contained within. It was a struggle every day not to use the information that he'd gotten from 2187's mind. He could open it—see everything and _know_ her.

But to do such a thing . . . he was unsure if it was the right thing to do.

The door chimed and he pulled his hand away as he looked up. "Enter," he called and the door slid open.

Hux stepped inside, his shoulders covered by his great black coat and his requisition hat in place. He saluted, as was required during duty meetings and Kylo waved him away. Hux removed the coat and hat, handing them off to the wall droid.

The room was quiet for a moment and then Hux spoke. "You're brooding again," he said as he turned back around to face the Knight.

Kylo snorted. "I'm hardly brooding. Merely . . . thoughtful," he said, his eyes still on the tablet. Hux shook his head as he came to the desk and sat down after Kylo made a gesture.

"What's the status on Lhwekk?" he asked, as his attention was placed completely on the general.

Hux gave a short nod. "We've restored order and the monarch is back in control of the planet. I've left the fifth division fleet in the sector to safeguard the planet for now."

It was a good start but not a permanent solution. "We can't leave an entire division out there," Kylo said and Hux nodded again before producing a datapad and handing it over.

The Knight read it over as Hux spoke. "Monarch Hawdrick submitted a request for an imperial outpost station to be built within their system. Considering the circumstances, it is not a terrible idea to acquiesce." Lhwekk was one of the more isolated worlds in the empire and far more vulnerable to attack both by the Resistance and outsiders.

"Did he submit a budget for construction?" Kylo asked as he paged through the data.

The general shook his head. "No, but he did give me this to pass on to you in person," Hux said, handing over a second smaller pad.

Kylo had to use his ID chip to activate this one and his eyes widened as he looked over the contents.

"What is it?" Hux asked anxiously.

The Supreme Ruler was silent for a beat before answering. "Just before the insurgency, there was a discovery made of a deposit of churcopt in an asteroid field two systems away." Kylo said

"I wasn't notified of this," Hux said and Kylo shook his head.

"Hawdrick hushed it up. He did not even want to risk sending a coded transmission with the Resistance converging just outside their borders. He hid the data until the planet could be liberated, and he's asked that we commission a refinery and permanent ship construction station in the sector."

Being so far afield, Lhwekk had never been the most economically stable planet when it came to imports and exports through the empire. There was very little capital being sent in and more was going out. Hawdrick would be frothing at the mouth to have an shipyard in the sector as they would create jobs for his people and bring much needed credits into his planet's economy.

Hux sighed. "The monarch was nearly executed by the insurgents, he was locked up for months in his own dungeons unless he was being paraded in chains and rags before his people."

Kylo gritted his teeth. What had happened on Lhwekk was a failure on many levels. Kylo rarely felt like he owed anyone anything, but the Monarch had stood with the empire even as the Resistance humiliated he and his people until they could be rescued. He'd hidden this data and turned it over when it was safe. A churcopt refinery was one of the most heavily guarded structures that could be built and that, in addition to a shipyard, would ensure a massive imperial presence in the vicinity of Lhwekk. No one would dare attack the planet again.

It was an easy decision. "Have our engineers draw up standard plans for the station and refineries," he paused before continuing to speak. "Mitaka has a background in structural engineering. Have him oversee the project and coordinate with Lhwekk to get it up and running immediately."

Hux nodded. "As you wish," he said, noting Kylo's order down on another pad.

Kylo leaned back and watched his closest friend and ally for a moment. "Have you commed your mother recently?" Kylo asked casually.

Hux didn't look up. "I spoke to her yesterday. She has another girl for me to meet at her next gala," he said indifferently.

Kylo snorted. It was an argument older than the empire itself. "Another one? I have to hand it to Margolin. She doesn't give up," he said.

Hux shook his head in irritation. "I make _one_ stars-damned comment about her new painting—"

" _What painting?"_ Kylo asked quickly, but Hux shook his head.

"I saw it in person. It's nothing like the ones you showed me from Ord Canfre. It's dark with little color and there were no Force-users. I did check into it though. Since your exemplar made such a splash, other artists have begun sprouting up hoping to cash in on the trend," he said and Kylo felt himself deflate.

"It was different?" he asked hesitantly.

The general nodded. "Quite. There was not the act of motion as though it were a snapshot of people living their lives. This one more of a posed silhouette of two people wrapped in a painfully beautiful embrace. I quite liked it and now the Lady Hux has managed to track down the artist. Mother didn't tell me her name but really, if she were the exemplar, do you think my _mother_ would have found her when your Knights had not?"

It was a fair point. "When we visit, I would see the painting for myself." It was probably nothing, after all, he'd seen actual _copies_ of Reyna's paintings. Dead end after dead end, but Kylo would make certain.

Hux inclined his head. "Of course, and you can do that mind trick of yours to get rid of mother's latest attempt," he said derisively.

The Supreme Ruler laughed. "Why Hux . . . What if she really is the one for you?" Kylo asked with a smile.

The general snorted. "I haven't the time to deal with some hanger-on that my mother has dug up from the very bowels of society."

Kylo raised a brow. "If Lady Hux is recommending her, she'll hardly be a bantha. Margolin wants to retire. You know she'd intended to train your spouse to take over the family interests." He paused. "Or just go to Kamino and have an heir created."

"I'm aware of all that," Hux said tightly. "But I'm hardly about to spawn a child and just leave it—even with my mother." Margolin was exceedingly supportive of her son—had always been. It was something Kylo had always envied, but he'd never had cause to feel any kind of jealousy, because she treated Kylo as though he were her own son. She'd taken him in when he'd creditless with nowhere to go. He'd been the disowned and despised Ben Organa that had succumbed to the darkside and been expelled from polite society.

Kylo's lip curled at his dark thoughts, but he tilted his head. "I suppose, though you'll need to produce an heir at some point. You can't just keep putting it off."

Hux shook his head. "You always take her side. And what about you, Supreme Ruler? When are we likely to see a crown prince or princess?"

The Knight blinked. He'd been asked some variation of the question before—numerous times in fact, but he'd always put the questions off. For five centuries, he'd been alone in the darkness and no amount of romantic or physical attachment could change that. They had all passed through his life like wraiths, shallow and easily forgotten.

But when the spark of her life had flared up twenty six years ago, he'd fallen to the ground and wept at the beauty of so small a thing and yet so life altering. His fingers had run over his thread in wonder at the taught strength of it.

She—and he'd just simply _known_ it was a she—had been born and she awaited him. Exemplars had always felt more deeply towards one another and he'd fantasized for decades about their lives together.

Children had inevitably been linked to that.

He thought of Reyna as he'd last seen her—thought of her terror in his ship and then her screams as she was thrown from his ship. He thought of the crushing loneliness he'd felt in her tiny home on Ord Canfre and the sorrow in her voice in 2187's memories.

Kylo thought it unlikely that she'd consent to procreating with him—in _any_ way. He would need to look into alternatives at some point, but . . . he couldn't think about that right now. Hux watched him, no doubt seeing the indecision on his face and the man eventually sat back with a sigh.

"Do not start panicking until you find her and really assess the situation. She may hate you with the vengeful fire of a trillion exploding stars, but she might not. It's also been nearly a year since your last interaction and time has a tendency to soften harsh memories."

Kylo thought of the vividly recollected days and nights of his childhood.

 _. . . Vader! He's Vader!_

He looked away. "Not always."

* * *

Rey sat in the booth of Maz's bar, looking at the lightsaber. _Because that's what it was._ The weapon of the Jedi Knights. It had called to her and she had been powerless to stop herself from acquiring it even with the exuberant cost. _200 credits_ . . . she sighed. Was this what the Force wanted from her? To learn to fight? But fight who? Kylo Ren?

"We have nothing to do with each other," she whispered aloud even as her eyes glided over the metal cylinder that sat so deceptively innocent before her. Rey had no business owning a weapon like this. What did she know about wielding a laser sword?

None of it made sense. Rey made it her business to stay as far away from anything having to do with the Supreme Ruler and his crazy douchebaggery. Owning a lightsaber flew directly in the face of her self-mandated rules. Both the shop owner and Gilas had seemed shaken that she had found and purchased the weapon which didn't bode well at all. And after what she'd witnessed from the shitlord, she knew the saber was dangerous.

"He's not your enemy, you know," a familiar voice said.

Rey looked up and spotted Maz standing beside her. "Who?" she asked obtusely.

Maz snorted as she sat down. "You know who," she said before her eyes slid down to the table. "Ah, finally found one to suit you, hmm?"

Rey was silent so Maz just shrugged.

"Or should I say that _it_ found _you,"_ Maz added as she examined the saber, her fingers twitching with her magnification goggles and her eyes growing larger and smaller every few seconds.

"That's probably more accurate," Rey muttered, irritated that Maz always seemed to know more about what Rey was going through than she, herself, did. "I know Kylo Ren isn't my enemy. I'm so far down the totem pole of shit he's dealing with right now that I didn't even rate a trial for my 'crimes'."

Maz smiled. "The only constant in this universe is change, and the Supreme Ruler has gone through a great many changes."

Rey shook her head. "Him taking his mask off doesn't make him suddenly a good or decent person. No one changes that much, that quickly," she said.

Maz hummed in agreement. "That is accurate to a certain extent, but his circumstances are beyond the norm. He is the dark exemplar, the avatar of the dark side of the Force. Together, with the light exemplar, balance will be achieved."

Rey sighed. "So? What has that got to do with his shitty personality?"

The little orange sentient didn't seem offended. "Every being in this galaxy has a single thread that connects them to the Force. Every single person . . . Except the exemplar. They share a thread. Hundreds of years ago, when the light exemplar who was born with Kylo Ren perished, his thread snapped."

Rey blinked several times. "Jerah," she whispered as she remembered the holo-vid.

Maz nodded and Rey shook her head in confusion. "How is he still alive?" she asked, suspicion and doubt beginning to cloud her mind. A snapped thread was indicative of death.

The orange sentient raised a hairless brow. "Sheer force of will. Other exemplars have done the same in the past, of course, but they all use the Force as a crutch to keep their threads from being consumed by the darkness beyond. He's been living the last five hundred years with a broken thread. No anchor to keep him fully tethered to this plane of existence."

"Until now," she said and Maz nodded in agreement.

"Until now," the sentient repeated in agreement. "His thread has reconnected and he is anchored again. His sanity is returning bit by bit."

Rey was quiet as she thought about that—thought about the implication of Maz's words and what it meant for Kylo during their first encounter. But she also thought of the consequences of their interaction and how, even now, she was fighting tooth and nail to undo what he'd done.

"It's not enough," she said finally. "I don't care that he's the dark exemplar or some powerful Force-user. I don't care that he went crazy because he couldn't allow himself to die with his friend. None of it ever had anything to do with me until he forced me into all this. He made a mess of my life on a whim and I'm still cleaning it up."

Maz shrugged. "You will never be free of all this. And if it hadn't been Kylo Ren who came to your planet, it would have been someone else."

"Someone else who wasn't bat-shit crazy," she said with a snort.

"Perhaps," Maz said cryptically and the table was silent for a moment until the sentient looked down at the lightsaber. "What do you plan to do with it?"

Rey sat back in her seat and shook her head tiredly. _I guess that line of conversation is over,_ she thought. "I was hoping you would tell me that. I don't . . . I have no idea what I'm supposed to do. I've been doing the meditations like you said, but I can't quite reach Earth."

Maz nodded. "You're not strong enough yet. You need to work on increasing your connection with the Force; allow it to flow through you. It's the only way you will be able to draw enough power to find what you seek."

"You think I haven't been doing that already?" she asked heatedly. "I've let this hokey religious stuff run my life the last four months! I have _hallucinations_ and I _hear voices_. What else is there for me to do?"

Maz hummed to herself, not in the least put off by Rey's irritation. "Perhaps it is time to try another method," she said calmly as she pointed to the lightsaber. "Finding that is a sign that the Force has more to teach you."

Rey shook her head. "I know what this is—what its purpose was. But I'm not a Jedi," she whispered. "I don't want to fight anyone."

Maz smiled. "One can join with the Force and not be a Jedi Knight. Theirs is merely one aspect of learning. That lightsaber was used by a Jedi, this is true, but now it has called to you. It accepts you and has bonded with your living energy. It will always call to you and now you will always find it. Learning to use it is the next step on your path."

"I never wanted any of this," Rey said dejectedly, "I just want to go home."

The small orange sentient reached over and put her hand over Rey's. "Child, you might not have wished for this journey but it is upon you and you can no longer run from it. But if you embrace it—embrace your strength and power, you will do great things."

Rey shook her head. "I'm just a mistake." In so many ways everything about her was a mistake.

Maz shook her head. "No Rey, you are child of the Force and everything that has happened to you—to the man that took you, it was the will of the Force."

Tears pricked her eyes. "But why?"

Maz was quiet for a long time before she spoke again. "Because you would not be ready to receive the gifts it has for you without the lessons you have learned," she said before getting up and leaving Rey alone at the table.

If she gave in, allowed the Force to guide her, she would find Earth. That was the message Maz was delivering in her own convoluted and riddled way. The Force had inflicted the suffering that she'd experienced in order to lead her here—to this place . . . this precipice between escape and embrace.

Rey picked up the lightsaber and walked out of the bar, her long navy cape swirling around her feet as she moved.

* * *

Sorry for the week delay! I was out of town visiting family last week. Thank you so much for you patience. :)


	23. Chapter 23

Kylo Ren kept his face carefully placid as he walked through the home of the Prime Minister of Doldur. Even after these few months, he was still getting used to being without his mask and he'd had to school his expressions more than once as he interacted with people who were not his direct subordinates.

Doldur was the last planet in this sector to seek entry into the empire. They were a proud people that had resisted the spectrum nanites as being unnatural, not for any religious reason, but because they felt that life could not be really treasured if it lasted so long. Minister Poldek was the first to put forth the idea of annexation to his people. They had been holding out for the last hundred years as the other planets in the surrounding systems flourished.

Not everyone on Doldur would accept the injection, however Kylo was certain that within a hundred years, the vast majority of the planet would have accepted the gift. He did not enjoy seeing citizens of his empire sicken and die like mayflies around him.

Kylo would not have normally done this in person; that was the job of one of the many diplomats employed within the government, but he had already been in the sector looking over the construction of a new spectrum nanite lab.

His plans required a significant stockpile of spectrum injections.

The request for his presence for the final assessment when he'd been so closeby was far from a coincidence. It was a common practice within the empire for leaders to try and get as much face time with the Supreme Ruler as possible. Minister Poldek was no different.

He would rather be out searching for Reyna but so far his Knights had not turned up any leads on the hidden art commune. Their taxes and financials were all done through a third party who was not privy to the location of his clients. When Kylo had a moment, he would bring up legislation to better account for imperial citizens because an entire artistic commune that generated millions of credits a year in income should not be untraceable. He sucked his teeth absently in irritation.

Kylo had been watching her search for her planet and he'd been tempted more than once to try and feed its location to her through the Force plane, but Caserian was there and any interference from Kylo would send up red flags to his apprentice. She was getting stronger, her connection with their power becoming ever more entrenched within her. Kylo longed to reach out through their tenuous connection and brush against her mind but he hadn't dared to. If she detected him, her mind would shut and he would lose her again.

He clenched his fist. He'd lose her more than he already had. She was out there within the empire without the him and he wondered then . . . did she know? Had Caserian told her? Was Caserian even with her on the physical plane? Kylo hated not knowing.

He pushed his irritation away as he looked around the room. The manor home of the Prime Minister was actually rather modest for a planetary ruler—even an elected one. Still, it was tastefully decorated in the traditional style of Doldur with several shades of blue mixed geometric patterns and hand carved marble accents. His blue-robed imperial guards stood outside the room waiting for the tour to start.

He was admiring a particularly intricate statuette when the minister appeared. Poldek was a trim man who had obviously not taken the spectrum injection. Even as one grew older, it was hard to actually see any outward signs of aging. Minister Poledek, however, had lines around his eyes and mouth and his skin was uneven in places indicating that he'd not gotten the injection during childhood.

The spectrum injection was only available at an exorbitant cost to non-citizens so very few people on this planet would have them. Despite his seeming youth, Kylo would be several centuries older than this man.

Minister Poldek bowed slightly and the Supreme Ruler responded in kind. "Thank you for inviting me into your home," Kylo said diplomatically.

Poldek nodded. "Of course, Supreme Ruler. It is a pleasure to host you on this occasion. It is tradition on my planet to allow you to see all the rooms of my home so that you may know that I come to our agreement with honesty and trust."

Kylo was aware of the tradition and had prepared accordingly. "I thank you for your hospitality and I hope you will visit my palace soon so that I may return the favor."

He was sure that the ink would barely have dried on the annexation documents before Poldek would come knocking on his door. Still, this planet had one of the best education systems for twenty sectors, and annexation would make many of those schools accessible to students who could not afford the cost of tuition by putting them on the imperial funding roster.

"I would be honored, Lord Ren," the man said just before they began the tour. Kylo's imperial guard followed along behind them on silent feet, keeping a respectful distance from the quietly conversing leaders.

The home was not lavish and like much of the planet's aesthetic, it tended to err on the side of restraint and simplicity. However, every piece within the home had a history of importance either to the minister or the planet itself and Poldek was quite effusive in his recitations of these stories.

Twenty minutes could be easily spent on a single paper weight sitting on a side table. So, it came as little surprise that several hours later when they entered the private study of the Minister's wife, that Kylo was barely paying attention. Even the imperial guard were shifting—however minutely. This being the lady's private sanctum, very little time was spent there and they were about step back out when a flash of color at the end of the room caught his attention. He blinked in confusion as he stared at the image silently while the minister asked him if he was alright.

"Yes . . . I'm sorry, I was struck by . . ." He pointed to the end of the room. "That." It was painting, one he'd seen a copy of and he knew its contents even from here. Perhaps this was but another forgery but he had to be sure. Kylo left Poldek and walked towards the art piece, taking in the saturation of colors and the sureness of the strokes.

The minister followed behind him. "Ah I see you've noticed our newest acquisition. Painted art! It's becoming all the rage again. My wife purchased this piece from a private gallery on Coruscant, I believe."

Painted art from a private gallery on Coruscant . . .

Kylo nodded absently as he finally came to a stop only a few feet from the painting, his eyes taking in the design. A man and woman standing in front of a lake with the sun setting in the distance. It was a wedding . . . Their wedding. He pulled a glove off, exposing his hand and reached out. Poldek made a small noise of protest by Kylo ignored him. He needed to be sure.

His eyes slipped shut as his fingers brushed the surface and the paint. Flashes of memory as if he'd lived it cut through his mind. This one was no forged copy.

"What gallery is this from?" he asked tensely.

Poldek pursed his lips in thought. "You know I don't know. I would need to ask my wi—"

Kylo cut him off. "Then please ask her," he requested but they both knew it was an order.

The minister looked confused but he scurried off to look for his wife leaving Kylo to stand there looking the piece over. His eyes trace the girl swathed in white lace, a soft smile on her face. Padmé Naberrie had not been trained in the Force, despite being the light exemplar. No one had known that she was meant for greatness when she was a child and her parents had not allowed the Jedi to take and train her.

And so she'd had no way to help Anakin defend against the darkness. It had consumed him and she'd been killed. Kylo would not allow the same fate to befall he and Reyna. He would train her, they would be equals and his Knights would be the definitive path of the Force in the galaxy.

The minister returned, his wife hot on his heels. Lady Poldek was dressed in a flowing gown of peach that cascaded from her shoulders to the floor in a confection of shimmery translucent fabric.

She bowed gracefully to him with a serene smile. "Supreme Ruler, sir. My husband tells me you are interested in the origin of one of our pieces."

He raised a brow at them before inclining his head.

She cleared her throat uncomfortably. "Ehem, well, I can't tell you much, though I did speak with the Artist once at a private gathering a few weeks back."

"You spoke to her?" he asked incredulously.

Lady Poldek nodded. "Yes, charming girl. Reyna, I believe is her name is, though most people still know her by her nickname of Artist. If I remember correctly, she said she was from a planet in the uncharted zone," the woman said pleasantly.

"Yes, did she say anything else?" he asked, his gaze intent.

The lady blinked in confusion before shaking her head. "There were many people vying for her attention that night. I believe the Lady Hux was able to speak with her the longest."

"Lady Hux?" he repeated, red beginning to bleed into his vision. Force damn Armitage to the dark side and back for not being able to tell one damn painting from another. When he got his hands on him—

"Oh, yes," the woman answered thoughtfully, cutting off his train of thought. "I heard later that she invited the Artist to her home for a gala next month." She looked at her husband. "You see, I told you that painting was a good investment. Even Lord Ren has heard of the Artist."

"Of course, dear," the minister said with a nod.

Neither of the Poldeks seemed to be aware of the Kylo's brewing temper and his fists trembled as he got himself under control. "I have not had the opportunity to purchase any of her work myself though I am an . . . admirer of her work. Would you be so kind as to tell me where you purchased this piece?" he asked, keeping his question as amiable as he was able.

The woman's brows furrowed. "Well, that is . . . I can't say."

His eyes flattened. "And why not?" he asked, a hint of an edge creeping into his tone.

"It's a private group. I'm sure Lady Hux could tell you all about it . . ." she trailed off, her eyes glazing over as he pushed his will upon the her. If he could not get what he needed from Lady Poldek, then he would try Lady Hux.

"Tell me how to find her," he ordered, ignoring the minister who was looking between them with a sense of dawning fright.

"I'm not supposed to," she whispered.

He took a step towards her. "But you want to. Tell me what I wish to know."

"Now see here—" the minister began and the imperial guard stepped forward, their weapons coming out, but Kylo ripped his gaze from the woman and looked at the man. "Quiet! I will be done in a minute."

Poldek's mouth moved up and down silently as though he could not quite form the words he wanted to say and Kylo turned back to the man's wife. "It's very important that I find her."

The lady nodded, her eyes and voice vacant. "She's important . . . I understand now. The gallery is run by a chagrian named Gilas Her'le. It's very exclusive and private and there is a waiting list to even be accepted into their gallery membership."

His lips curled, please to finally have a name. "I'm the Supreme Ruler of the Corellian Empire. I can promise, Mister Her'le will be very pleased that you told me about the gallery. Afterall, who would not want me for a client."

"That's true," she said thoughtfully before going to an ornate wooden box that sat on her desk. She opened it and flipped through a few things before pulling out a thin card. She handed it over to him and he noticed it was paper of all things. A very expensive commodity. It merely had a comm address printed on one side and nothing else.

"That's Gilas's private line for his top tier buyers."

Kylo smiled. "Thank you," he said as he placed the card into his pocket before turning back to look at the painting. "You purchased this work for two thousand credits. I will give you five thousand for it."

That seemed to shake the woman from her reverie. "I—I"

Her husband seemed to finally find his voice where his wife could not. "We would happy to sell you the painting, Supreme Ruler."

He nodded shortly. "Thank you for your help. One of the delegates will be in touch with you about your annexation approval." That should take care of any lingering anger over his behavior. The minister's profuse gratitude as he walked away said that it did. It was rude but he'd given them what they wanted and he had what he wanted. A lead.

* * *

Rey sat on the ground alone in her cottage, her feet bare beneath her as they brushed against the woven fibers of the matted flooring. She'd sent Gilas off with her latest batch of paintings and the chagrian had been smiling as he left. Kord was off-planet visiting one of her clients so Rey was alone with nothing but her thoughts and the two items that sat before her.

The lightsaber twitched with the movement of her fingers in her lap and she watched it turn this way and that as she contemplated the other object. She had just over thirty-five thousands credits now. That's what her datapad said. Rey had enough to buy a ship. She had an ID chip and she could go to Coruscant and buy a ship. It wouldn't be difficult or illegal or even terribly time consuming.

She could just . . . do it.

Earth was still out of reach, but she was getting closer—she knew it. She could almost feel Poe every time she visited the other plane. Caserian seemed to be there more often than not and as she thought of him, her fingers ceased their twitching. The lightsaber halted its movement over the floor and she looked down at it before running a fingertip over the cool metal.

It was the last thing she saw as she sank into her meditation and began making her way through the tangle of threads towards the knot she was sure contained the threads of Earth. She just needed to find the right one. Caserian was no where near, but there were others drifting around her. They'd been showing up more and more often, especially when Caserian wasn't around.

They continued to be fairly benign, and they simply watched her from a short distance. They couldn't find her, of that she was sure, but they were around nonetheless. They were curious about her, she thought. She was no Knight, but she was using the Force without their teachings.

As she continued to search, her mind drifted to the last time she'd visited the plane. She was still unsure if what she'd allowed to happen was a mistake or not. He'd used his own thread to pull her into his mind once more, but there hadn't been a short message waiting for her but a burst of knowledge . . . the kind that had her fingering her lightsaber absently in the real world.

Maz's teachings had been invaluable with the more abstract methods of Force-use, but actually using a lightsaber was something different. The things in her mind . . . many of them lined up with what was in the padawan's journal, while much of it was different. She'd could now flip through it and just know which things were important and which pages to read and learn from. That—combined with the flashes of memories of fights that allowed her to see and experience battle—well, she hoped that if push came to shove, she could at least defend herself.

Rey hadn't tried out any of the forms that she knew of—she hadn't even ignited the thing since the day she'd purchased it. But she hadn't let it out of her sight either. It sat innocuously beside paints and pigments on the table as she worked, and when she went elsewhere, it was clipped to a belt. She thought back to the old man. He'd said she would eventually have to take up arms; to fight. Was that her destiny?

Destiny or no destiny, she was done waiting.

She was used to remaining on the plane for extended periods, but this time she stayed there for . . . a long time. Long enough for Caserian to come to her and long enough to feel herself beginning to fade. Year and decades slipped by on the Force plane and the longer it went on, the more it felt as though chunks of herself were slowly chipped away and remade as she allowed the Force further and further into her mind and it hurt.

But none of that mattered when she found it.

There . . . she thought tiredly as she slipped away from the other plane. When Rey emerged and her eyes opened, she was sprawled across her floor unable to move. Her breathing was slow and shallow and there was a gut-wrenching pain that she knew quite well.

"Oh God," she moaned weakly. How long had she been gone?

She blinked slowly, reaching out and hooking on to the closest mind.

"Kord," she whispered desperately and only a minute passed before her she heard a pounding on her front door. Rey was thanking every deity she could think of that she'd given Kord chip access to her home as the twi'lek rushed to her side.

"Oh, stars! Rey!" she said as she gathered Rey up and propped her against the sofa. "What are you doing here? What happened?"

Kord's makeup was half done on her face and she wore a bathrobe instead of her usual pristine white gown.

"Water," Rey managed to gasp out and the twi'lek nodded quickly as she got to her feet and hurried into the kitchen.

How could she have made such a stupid mistake? It was easy to get lost on the other plane, but if Kord hadn't been around . . .

The twi'lek return bearing a glass of water with a straw and she helped Rey to drink some of it. She coughed as her bone dry throat swallowed around the cool life-giving liquid.

"Do you know how long you need to go without water or food with the nanites to end up like this?" Kord demanded angrily.

"I'm guessing it's a while," Rey said with a sigh as she continued to sip the water.

Kord shook her head in irritation. "Two weeks, Rey! Two weeks without water is how long it takes! Have you been here this whole time? You didn't answer your door so I thought you'd gone off planet."

Tears sprang up even as her body hurried to save what little moisture it had. "I found it,"  
she whispered.

"Found what?" Kord asked in confusion.

"Earth," Rey said, "I found Earth."

Kord's jaw dropped. "You . . . How did you find it?"

The pain and the emptiness within her seemed so far away as she remembered. "I let it in," she said after a quiet moment as her trembling fingers reached out. "It showed me the way."

Her lightsaber laid several meters away, but it snapped towards her, more powerfully than it ever had before. Her fingers twitched to ignite it, just to see the power and the beauty of the weapon of the Force-users.

Kord's jaw dropped open. "Rey. Stop."

The Earth girl turned abruptly. "Why? I can do things now. Protect myself."

She could now. They were all nothing to her. Kylo Ren was nothing.

The twi'lek shook her head and her voice was concerned. "No, Rey! You've been on that damn Force plane too long. You aren't thinking straight. What happens when a Knight senses you and comes for you? You can move a fork and read people's emotions." She pointed to the lightsaber. "I don't care what you think you learned over there. The Knights have been serving Kylo Ren for four hundred years. Think! You don't really know how to use that thing and you're no match against one of them. You need to stay off the radar."

Rey could feel the cold fear that gripped Kord. She remembered the Knight—Caserian—who had nearly taken her friend with nothing but a word and no one could stop him. Caserian Ren was no threat to her, of that she was sure, but he'd been so strong, almost lazy in his claim over her. He was younger than most, she knew. Perhaps now she could stand toe to toe with him, but the others?

Rey looked away. "They don't matter anymore. I've found my home, and I have enough credits to buy my own ship. I'll be outside the empire's reach soon."

Kord shook her head again in agitation. "Until Kylo Ren goes back to your planet to find the other exemplar. He'll sense you. The other Knights will sense you. What will you do then?"

Rey deflated a bit. She hadn't thought of that—so convinced that Kylo Ren would prefer to leave her be rather than be reminded of his mistake. She bit her lip in contemplation. She couldn't face him . . . couldn't face the man with the burning eyes.

Kord put a hand on Rey's arm. "Stay here, Rey, where it's safe—at least until he finds the new exemplar. Once he starts parading her around, then go back."

It was a good plan, she allowed. Staying on Takodana was no great hardship . . . but then she thought about her brother, Poe. What he would have felt watching her be dragged off by Kylo Ren. And then when the Supreme Ruler eventually returned to Earth to find a new girl. He would think she was dead. She couldn't let him go through that again.

Rey sighed. "I have to go," she said finally.

Kord looked so stricken. "I don't want anything to happen to you," she said as her head came down until her forehead rested on Rey's shoulder. Rey's hand hovered over her friend's back as she swallowed. Kord loved her, she knew and her eyes slid shut as she felt the rawness the twi'lek's pain.

Kord's hand slid down until her fingers were entwined with Rey's. "You'll come back though, right?" she asked in resignation.

Rey allowed a sad smile. "Of course."


	24. Chapter 24

Only a few days later, her meager things were packed up and currently residing in a hangar on Coruscant waiting to be loaded into a ship. One crate had her painting supplies, while another had her finished paintings that she wouldn't be selling. Rey didn't have much more than that—except clothes of course. Kord had shoved another crate at her just before she left Takodana. A cursory look inside at the sealed and bundled plethora of outfits had her shaking her head.

"People on Earth aren't exactly running around in potato sacks," she said with a raised brow.

Kord shook her head. "Do you even know what kind of situation you're going to be walking into? You were kidnapped over a year ago, presumably never to return. What are you going to do for money if everything's gone?"

She didn't think Poe would have left her destitute, but then if he was still serving in the navy—and he better be—he wouldn't have necessarily been able to keep her apartment or things.

"Alright," she said as she gave Kord one final hug.

She'd just dropped off one last painting with Gilas at the gallery and he'd been shocked to see her there. They spoke for a while in his office and he'd gotten quite crestfallen when she said she was leaving to find her planet.

"I'll be back, though," she said, "This is not the last you'll see of me."

"So long as you bring a stack of paintings when you come back, I guess I can forgive you for leaving me high and dry like this," the chagrian replied.

Gilas would no doubt hoard her works and ask exorbitant prices in order to be parted from them. Rey had rolled her eyes but given the man a hug anyway. They'd talked about her need for a ship and he'd recommended a shop right there on Coruscant. According to Gilas, the ships there were relatively inexpensive but in perfect working order. He'd assured her of the quality and she took him at his word. Yelp wasn't really a thing on a galactic scale and it was all word of mouth recommendations.

So now she stood in front of a reputable mechanic shop on Coruscant, and Rey could not believe how close she was. All the saving and working on Ord Canfre, and the centuries she'd spent on the other plane had all lead up this moment. She hadn't spoken to FN-2187 since that last comm and his thread was firmly ensconced in the presence she'd identified to be Kylo Ren. How he'd gotten there and more importantly _why_ . . . she had no answer.

Caserian hadn't shown up on Coruscant even though he had to know that she would come to this planet to get a ship. But she'd yet to feel his presence . . . though there was another Knight there. He or she was half the planet away and Rey had to squash her presence to nothing, just like Caserian had 'taught' her. The cape she wore kept her lightsaber well out of sight, but she could not help brushing her fingers over the cool metal at the thought of him.

She walked into the shop and it wasn't all that dissimilar from a car shop back on Earth. Men and women up to their elbows in parts and black grease walked around ignoring her—just like Earth—until she finally called out, "I'm looking for Snap Wexley."

They looked at one another for a second before a good looking heavy set human with dark hair and eyes rolled out from beneath a hyperdrive engine. "That's me," he said, pulling himself back up so he was standing before her. His jumpsuit and face were _caked_ in engine grease and she resisted the urge to step back a bit. Thank God shaking hands wasn't a thing out here.

She pasted on a smile. "Hi. I was told you were selling a ship?"

The man looked her over for a second before shrugging. "Got lots of ships. You know how to fly one?"

It was a valid question, she supposed. "Yes."

That seemed good enough and Wexley nodded as he grabbed a rag and began wiping his hands. "You looking for space or speed?" he asked as he lead her through the shop and into a large yard behind the building.

"Space isn't as important," she said, remembering the months she'd lived in the apartment on Ord Canfre. "I just need it large enough to accommodate me on long distance travel. A small freighter maybe, with a decent sized hyperdrive. I need to be able to pilot it myself."

They stopped just outside the building and she could see maybe a dozen ships of various sizes and in various states of repair scattered around a large open yard. Some were massive while others were barely more than a single-seater. Wexley was looking them all over and she couldn't help skimming the surface of his mind. She didn't do that often, she thought it sort of rude to be honest, but if she got cheated because she didn't use every skill at her disposal, then that was on her.

 _Not that one . . . that one won't be ready for weeks . . . too big . . . maybe that one? Just need to get that part installed and it'll be good to go._ Rey pulled away. The man seemed fairly benign so she let him lead her further into the yard until they stopped in front of a ship that had obviously seen better days but wasn't the trash heap she'd been expecting.

"The type of vessel you're describing is hard to come by. Lots of people want single person ships they can live in and pilot themselves and they're popular with smugglers and bounty hunters too." He gestured to the freighter, "This ship is meant for two pilots but if you give me a day, I can modify it and add an additional control board so you don't need a second pilot."

Rey looked the ship over critically. It looked positively ancient, especially when compared to the ships that she'd been riding around with Kord in, but she was also aware that looks were far from important when it came to these ships. They were built to last as the churcopt was almost impossible to extract again after the creation of a hyperdrive motivator. The vessel was bigger than what she'd initially wanted, but that wasn't as big of a deal but size also had a measurable effect on speed—and price.

"What is the size of the hyperdrive?" she asked as she was lead inside. The thing was filthy if she were being honest. A layer of dark dust coated everything, and she was nearly certain that it had probably been used as a mining freighter in a previous life.

"This is a YT-2400 series freighter. It's rated as a Class 2.0 hyperdrive," he said as she looked over the cockpit. It was indeed set up for two pilots, but it could be converted easily enough.

Rey nodded. "That's slower than I was hoping." Others, even in the same series of ships had hyperdrives rated as low as Class 0.5. Still, being picky about how fast her _hyperdrive_ was when she was traveling halfway across the _galaxy_ seemed a little gauche.

Wexley showed her the cabins and the cargo area. "Unless you're willing to pay for modifications, that's as good as it gets."

She pursed her lips. The ship was not precisely what she'd wanted, but it was all there. "How much?" she asked.

"Thirty thousand," he said without missing a beat.

"Thirt—This isn't an Imperial Cruiser. It's a goddamn YT freighter," she said heatedly. Rey had been expecting twenty-two at most.

He gave her a deadpan look. "This ship goes for over a hundred thousand new. I'm giving you a discount here cause you're cute."

She wanted to slap the man. "Twenty-five," she said. "It's not worth thirty and I'm not some idiot off the street." She paused before muttering, "Not to mention, I'm gonna be cleaning this ship for the next hundred years."

Wexley looked around, his expression innocent. "It's not that bad."

She wondered if he'd be saying the same thing if she had a blacklight. "It's bad. Twenty-five is the most I'll do."

Wexley rolled the number around in his mind before nodding. "Fine, twenty-five," he said.

She nodded. "Does it have an ID system?" Not every ship did as it was an expensive feature but if she was taking the ship back to Earth . . .

"Sure does, no one's piloting this 'cept you," he assured her.

She smiled up at him. "I assume the modifications we talked about before are included in the price?"

Wexley rolled his eyes. "You're gonna break me, woman. Fine. Anyone ever tell you, you're a hardass?"

Rey raised a brow. "I know the value of credits and I don't part with them easily."

"I'll bet," he said with a sigh. "Come back tomorrow with the credits and she's yours."

Rey nodded and gave the man a genuine smile. "Thank you."

"Yeah, sure. Anytime," he said and she nodded before leaving the establishment, mentally tallying the things she still needed to buy before she picked up the ship tomorrow. Rations and fuel mostly, but she was also sure that the 'fresher units would be empty in that ship and need to be refilled. Her account would be practically empty after this but it would be worth it.

When she got back to Earth, Rey wondered if she would still paint. Her work wasn't anything to write home about, in her opinion. She just happen to be the only game in town at the moment. Painting had never been more than a hobby in college because unless one was a megastar, one didn't make a whole lot of money. That she'd practically fallen into that situation was . . .

Rey narrowed her eyes. _It was incredibly lucky._

She took a breath as she walked. How much control over her life did the Force have, she wondered. Maz had told her that the Force had brought her to this point. She shook her head. It made sense. It wasn't her talent, it was the _Force_ that caused her success.

She fingered the lightsaber strapped to her side. If she never picked up a paintbrush again, Rey wondered what would happen. In the end it didn't matter. She had her ship and she knew the location of Earth.

There was little doubt in her mind that she wouldn't see the galaxy again. It had become painfully obvious that the Force had plans for her. No way would her life have been manipulated to this extent without a purpose in mind.

Rey sort of hoped it involved Kylo Ren and a tire iron.

* * *

Kylo could feel she wasn't on the planet even as they made their descent towards the commune and he had to stop himself from physically slaughtering everything around him. _Another_ failure to find her. Takodana was the place she'd been living for the last six months and perhaps she'd simply stepped out to attend to an errand. He'd had his people follow the chagrian, Gilas Her'le, all the way here but the exemplar was still absent.

Still, there was information to be had. The ship landed with a slight tremble and the ramp lowered. Without his mask, he could see that the planet was beautiful and exactly the type of place he wished he'd dropped her on to begin with. Perhaps she would not have been so hard pressed to leave and force Kylo to track her down if the scenery had been better. The imperial guard was the first out as usual but he followed swiftly and his feet had barely touched the ground before he was being greeted by the residents. A few of his Knights fanned out behind him, subtly skimming the thoughts everyone there.

Gilas stood at the front of the small crowd. Fear was rampant in the group and Kylo could tell that the vast majority never left this commune. Most of them did not recognize him so they only saw an outsider, and they didn't know how to deal with his presence.

The chagrian stepped forward and Kylo watched as he whispered reassurances and explanations to the artists. His name was spoken and a few stepped back from him while others eyed him closely. His mask had been his symbol for almost two hundred years, and people were hard-pressed to associate him with his true face.

Gilas gave a small bow as he approached. "Supreme Ruler! I—we did not know to expect you."

"I am looking for someone," he said simply, his eyes gliding over the crowd. They all murmured and looked at one another, confused over which one of them had gained the attention of the Supreme Ruler. He could see Reyna's smiling face in the sentient's mind.

He _knew._

"Has one of our artisans caught your eye?" Gilas asked hesitantly, his gaze downcast as though that would protect his mind.

An interesting choice of words. "In a manner of speaking. I seek Reyna Gillespie."

Gilas's eyes widened even as a another voice asked, "Rey?"

He immediately speared the girl with his gaze. She was a pretty young indigo-colored twi'lek girl in a white dress—and she was eyeing him with thinly veiled hostility and disdain. He easily delved into her mind and saw feelings for Rey that ran slightly deeper than mere friendship. The twi'lek loved to dress Rey up simply because she enjoyed seeing the human in clothing she'd created, usually with Rey in mind. He saw the twi'lek specifically picking the best planets and restaurants to take Rey to and give her the time of her life. His face twitched minutely in jealousy before he pulled away slightly but kept his presence inside her mind, pressing specifically on her and inhibiting her ability to lie.

He knew the way to Rey's home on this planet from the twi'lek's mind so he walked towards it, pausing long enough to convey an order. "Come with me," he said. Her eyes narrowed but she followed none the less, unable to disobey him.

The pair moved through the foliage of the planet and towards the tiny home. The sight of it caused his fingers to tightened as he was once again brought up short by the fact that his exemplar continued to live in _hovels_ because of his foolishness. They entered through the wide glass doors and most of the furniture was covered but there were still signs of Rey about; a few jars of pigment on a table and a half-made canvas against a wall.

The twi'lek stayed by the door as he walked towards a small table where one of the jars sat. His fingers circled the top of it, though he could not feel the metal through the leather of his gloves. But he could feel . . . happiness. She'd been happy here for a time.

The home was silent as he stood there in thought, before speaking again. "You knew her well," he said thoughtfully. "She was happy . . . because of _you."_

Her eye twitched at the accusation. "Rey was not in a good place when she got here, and there was a point that she nearly gave up on everything. I reminded her that there were still reasons to go on, still beautiful things to experience."

"She confided in you."

He could hear the sounds of Reyna's cries as she related her trauma, feel her hair as though it were his own fingertips soothing her in the darkness. Kylo did not allow frustration to cloud his judgement or his expression as he turned to face her, the tiny jar clutched in his hand.

He pulled away from her mind fully. He contemplated taking the twi'lek as well. FN-2187 had become a rather important member of his entourage since he'd joined Kylo in his search. The ex-'trooper was, even now, aboard the Defender tracking down the other owners of Reyna's paintings. But this girl—this _Kord Mondrechia_ —was not the same as '87. He could break her and rebuild her into something more docile, though that would upset the Artist.

She seemed to sense the danger he posed, and she backed up a bit as he walked towards her. "Why are you here?" she asked, her voice low and cautious.

A muscle trembled in his cheek as he contemplated telling her. "There is only one reason I would travel to this tiny unimportant planet," he murmured.

Her breath was a shuddering thing as she seemed to realize exactly who it was that she stood alone with. "You left her on Ord Canfre."

He did not deny it. "Yes . . . A mistake, it seems. One that I will rectify as soon as I find her."

She blinked up at him and he could took the barest of seconds to bask in her fear. "Why?" she asked.

A slow smiled spread over his lips. "You know why. You know the reason that you and all others are drawn to her. You've suspected it from the beginning."

She shook her head quickly and looked away from him. "It can't be her. Rey's not . . ."

He snorted out a bitter laugh. "You wanted to believe it so badly—Believe that you and she could move about for the rest of your lives uninterrupted—that it would be _you_ who made her whole and happy again."

Her sadness washed over him and his smile grew. "You know what it means to be exemplar. You can play at being the dumb fashion girl, but you did your homework. You know that _I_ am the only one who will fill that void that has lived within her."

It looked as though Kord would curl up within herself, but then her eyes changed. "You can try, but she _hates_ you," the twi'lek hissed. "You ruined her life after you nearly killed her. You'll follow her back to that planet of hers, and she'll be ready for you this time—"

Kylo felt the red bleed over into his vision and Kord's eyes widened in horror as his hand came up. The sentient immediately froze in silence. "I misjudged you. You've learned so much about her—about me, and yet somehow you don't even know when to _shut up._ You think your pitiful little crush will mean anything after I find her? She and I are one—our very existence is tied together. I have all the time in the world to convince Reyna to forgive me," he said as his eyes moved over her. "Even if I do something _unforgivable."_

The twi'lek gave one final gasp before falling to ground, her form still and Kylo's red eyes bled away back into darkness. He stepped over her without a backwards glance and walked slowly back to the main common area of the commune. The effects of Reyna's presence on him were fading and the darkside was pulling on his thread. He held up the tiny jar and took a steadying breath. Even if she did despise him . . . he could never let her go.

Kylo entered the common area and found that many of the other artists had been sent off to their homes, the Knights picking through their minds before erasing their memories. Coming here had been a waste of time, it seemed.

He was about to ascend the ramp back up into the ship when one of his Knights spoke up. "Sir, a moment of your time," Londra Ren said from the side.

Kylo looked over to find the Knight standing beside a sweaty and nervous Gilas.

His head tilted in mild confusion before he made his way over. "Find something interesting?" he asked knowingly. Londra was one of the higher ranked Knights and had the privilege of acting autonomously because he had Kylo's complete trust. He would not have stopped the Supreme Ruler unless it was important.

Kylo didn't even need to reach out a hand to the chagrian. The panicked sentient was practically broadcasting his guilt and treasonous actions now that he'd been found out.

He'd been speaking to people and taking orders from enemies of the Empire. _This new artist at my commune was kidnapped by the Supreme Ruler . . ._

Kylo's eyes met the art dealer and the abject fear in the sentient's gaze wasn't enough to assuage his anger. "You sent her to a Resistance cell. _My exemplar."_

The chagrian shook his head in denial and he whimpered as the Supreme Ruler bore down on him. Kylo was tempted to crush the sentient's skull right then and there . . .

"Supreme Ruler," Londra began. "I will get every detail and scrap of information from him. We will find the Artist."

Kylo turned to the Knight. "I leave that to you then," he said before turning away.

She'd gone back to Earth . . . on a ship sold her by a Resistance sympathizer. He'd come so far only find out he was back at square one. No, he was worse off now because anyone with a set of eyes could tell she _hated_ him and now she was on the radar of Leia Organa.

He thought over his options. He could leave for Earth immediately, chase her down and drag her back to his empire. It was his first instinct and what he wanted to do. But . . . he sighed. Kylo Ren made a decision that was rare for him. He put the welfare of another before himself.

He'd send probes and perhaps a stealth team to the planet to make sure the Resistance kept away, but . . . he'd give her a few years on Earth to spend with her people, her family. And when he went back to find her, he'd be more . . . diplomatic about it. It would give her time to cool down and Kylo was sure that if he explained everything, that she would understand and return with him. She was the light exemplar, her place was by his side.

* * *

Because of an anon troll, I will no longer be posting on this site. I will continue on AO3. If anon becomes a problem on there, I can at least disable it. I'm sorry to the readers on here that have to switch because of one person.


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